Thread by @DataRepublican

🧵 THREAD: Timothy Mynett: Ilhan Omar's husband and the progressive money man you've probably never heard of

Ilhan Omar's wealth headlines ($30M net worth 👀) are dominating today's feeds. But behind that story is someone far less visible: her husband, Tim Mynett.

Not the ex with the bizarre "married her brother" rumor. This one is far more interesting, and far more connected.

For nearly two decades, Mynett has been the quiet operator raising millions, plugging into D.C.’s progressive networks, and eventually pivoting into global business ventures.

📚 From poli-sci undergrad in New York...
⚖️ To moving foundation money at Alliance for Justice...
💼 To consulting alongside Obama’s inner circle at New Partners...

He's climbed rung by rung through the fundraising machine that fuels progressive politics.

This thread unpacks:
➡️ His rise through nonprofits & campaigns
➡️ His deep ties across the progressive donor universe
➡️ The surprising pivots... from digital firms to wine, cannabis, and impact investing with ex-ambassadors

👇 Let's dig in.

Mynett first appeared in the news in 2019, when divorce papers claimed he was having an affair with Ilhan Omar, even as Omar's campaign was paying him money. Both Omar and Mynett denied it at the time.

Just months later, Mynett married Omar -- even as Omar had already paid his firm $600,000.

Mynett did not start with a financial background. He graduated with a BA in political science in 2004 from SUNY. His LinkedIn also lists education in University of KwaZulu-Natal, located in South Africa.

His first political connectionsas w as an intern for Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ). The Wikipedia page for Pascrell describes that when his district was restructured in 2012, it became a "proxy war for Israel" with the Arab supporters rallying around Pascrell.

Somehow, Mynett's political science degree qualified him to become a Foundation Manager for Alliance for Justice right after graduation, a NGO which provides background on judicial candidates to the ABA and the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The political connections of Alliance for Justice go deep. Its former president, Rakim Brooks, was on the Biden-Harris transition team, after previously serving as a policy advisor for the Treasury Department during the Obama administration.

As Foundation Manager for Alliance for Justice, he raised millions -- which would have brought him extensive connections straight out of college. His Rose Lake biography says he has raised over a hundred million in his time.

Just five years after leaving college with a political science degree, Mynett found himself in the inner circle of Obama alumni, serving as Senior Director at their newly founded consulting firm -- New Partners.

While in New Partners, Mynett did fundraising for Keith Ellison. The campaign manager for Ellison, Will Hailer, describes Mynett as a rockstar who connected well to "donors of Islamic faith."

One of Mynett's brag points is his efforts with SEIU's "Change That Works" which focused on passing Obamacare.

In 2014, Mynett founded his own company, the Mynett Group. Keith Ellison's committee paid the Mynett Group a retainer of $9,000 a month for four years.

In 2018, Mynett co-founded E Street Group LLC with Will Hailer, the campaign manager for Keith Ellison. Among their first clients was Ilhan for Congress. They worked to elect her to Congress, even as her campaign paid them millions.

Will Hailer himself would go onto be Mynett's longtime partner, eventually co-founding Rose Lake Capital LLC with him. He bills himself as a former Senior Advisor to the DNC.

Omar was not the only client of E Street Group. E Street Group has received income from Democratic Farmer Labor Party, Rashida Tlaib for Congress, Cenk for Congress (yes, I believe it is that Cenk Uygur!), and more high-profile names.

By and far the top client for E Street Group was Ilhan for Congress, which gave it almost 3 million dollars in 2020. The next largest vendor was MATH PAC at $534,485 -- which appears to have worked on the behalf of Andrew Yang.

Omar claims a top FEC campaign attorney shrugged off Omar marrying her own campaign fund manager as 'not uncommon.'

Uhhhhh....

In 2022, perhaps because of scandal, Mynett withdrew from E Street Group and went onto founding Rose Lake Capital. Rose Lake bragged about politically connected board, including an ex-ambassador and former Representative.

They together branched into new ventures, including a winery and a cannabis operation. Investors in both later accused them of fraud.

Mynett's Twitter feed tiptoes around whether he identifies with the Islamic faith or not. As of August 2024, he denied being wealthy.

The $30M net worth claim looks like a valuation on paper, not actual earned income. I haven't found evidence of real underlying assets. It claims to manage 60 billion in assets, but a report showed that the attached bank accounts had less than $50 in balance.

I'll end the thread here. My assessment -- none of the numbers add up. @HarmeetKDhillon might be interested in this.

@HarmeetKDhillon Hypothetically, if I were launching a new venture fund and needed credibility fast, I might use my Congressional spouse to inflate the reported valuation on paper and get headlines, making it look more established than it really is... in hopes of drawing in investors.

@HarmeetKDhillon Confirmed: Mynett is Muslim.

@HarmeetKDhillon

Video where Omar is alleged to have talked about wanting to retire and live with her children in Somalia. No mention of Mynett.