State Rep. Steve Drazkowski continues battle with U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar

Rep. Steve Drazkowski of Mazeppa launched a website focused on Rep. Ilhan Omar and also submitted a formal request for an investigation to the U.S. House Ethics Committee.

July 24, 2019 at 1:32PM

State Rep. Steve Drazkowski, who helped spur a key campaign finance investigation of Rep. Ilhan Omar, launched a new website, OmarTruth.com, to continue his efforts to draw attention to the congresswoman, a Minneapolis Democrat.

Drazkowski, a Mazeppa Republican, said at a Tuesday news conference that he has also submitted a formal request for an investigation of Omar to the U.S. House Committee on Ethics.

"Rep. Omar has not been forthright with the good people of Minnesota, plain and simple," he said.

Omar told the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board that she filed joint tax returns in 2014 and 2015 with her current husband even though she was married at the time to another man. She was forced to pay back campaign money she used to pay a tax lawyer.

Her admission again raised questions about her first legal marriage and whether the man she married was actually her brother.

The progressive group TakeAction Minnesota released a statement in support of Omar: "When elected officials attack our neighbors and intentionally spread misinformation in our communities, it hurts all of us. Leaders who divide our state and country weaken the whole."

The controversy surrounding Omar ramped up in recent days when President Donald Trump publicly speculated about her first marriage. A crowd at one of his rallies chanted "send her back" while Trump attacked her for what he said were her anti-American views.

Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa, is submitting a formal request for an investigation of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar to the U.S. House Ethics Committee.
Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa, is submitting a formal request for an investigation of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar to the U.S. House Ethics Committee. (Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar holds a Medicare for All town hall with Rep. Pramila Jayapal and a number of other state lawmakers.
U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar held a recent Medicare for All town hall with Rep. Pramila Jayapal and a number of other state lawmakers. (Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
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