Omar Accused of Violating House Rules Over Use of TikTok Account

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) speaks during a press conference in Washington on Sept. 29, 2022. (Jemal Countess/Getty Images for We, The 45 Million)

The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT) has called for an investigation into Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-Minn.) use of social media, specifically mixing personal and official TikTok accounts.

The complaint was filed with the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) on March 30, 2023, by the non-partisan ethics watchdog group.

FACT wants a determination on whether the Minnesota congresswoman has violated House rules by using a social media account for political purposes and abusing official resources.

According to FACT’s press release announcing the complaint, despite warnings about the sharing of TikTok data with the Chinese regime and the House of Representatives banning the app from official devices, Omar continued to use the same TikTok account for both official and political purposes.

The foundation says that appears to be a violation of House Ethics rules.

Omar’s TikTok account includes political content such as videos urging viewers to support Democratic candidates, messages to Democrats volunteering for campaigns, and videos of her attending campaign events.

The account also features official government resources, including C-Span footage from the House floor, a cell phone video recorded on the House floor, and an interview from what appears to be her House office.

FACT stated that federal law and House ethics rules require a strict separation between campaign and official acts.

The complaint states, “The ethics rules enforce this law by also prohibiting Members from using any official resource for campaign or political purposes.”

According to the foundation, an official resource is “anything funded by taxpayers, examples include—all government buildings and House offices, a Member’s official website and social media accounts, and photographs and video from the House or Senate floor. Conversely, a Member is prohibited from using campaign funds for official purposes.”

The use of the account itself was cited as an abuse of government resources by FACT because both official and political content is posted, and the use of official video recorded in the House for political purposes is another violation of ethics rules.

The complaint calls for a thorough investigation into Omar’s use of social media and use of official government resources for political purposes.

“These violations are disturbing, and clearly not how members are supposed to be using official resources,” said FACT’s executive director Kendra Arnold, according to the group’s press release.

“The law is abundantly clear, and her account and the content posted speak for themselves. These rules are to protect the time, resources, and integrity of official proceedings for those in elected office.”

Omar’s office did not immediately respond to The Epoch Times’s request for comment.