House Republicans have opened an investigation into Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) after reviewing recent financial disclosure filings that show a sharp increase in her household’s reported wealth, according to multiple media reports.

The inquiry is being led by Republicans on the House Oversight Committee, who say they are examining whether Omar and her husband, Tim Mynett, properly disclosed income and business interests as required by federal ethics laws. The review is in its early stages, and no formal allegations of wrongdoing have been announced.

'There are a lot of questions as to how her husband accumulated so much wealth over the past two years.'

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) said the panel intends to pursue answers through congressional oversight channels.

“We’re going to get answers, whether it’s through the Ethics Committee or the Oversight Committee, one of the two,” Comer said.

Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

Omar, a Democrat who represents much of Minneapolis, reported significantly higher asset valuations in her most recent annual disclosure compared with previous years. The filings list increased valuations tied largely to Mynett’s business holdings, including consulting and investment ventures.

Comer questioned the plausibility of the reported increase, saying it raised immediate red flags.

“There are a lot of questions as to how her husband accumulated so much wealth over the past two years,” Comer said. “It’s not possible. It’s not. I’m a money guy. It’s not possible.”

Republicans say the size and timing of the reported increase warrant closer scrutiny. Oversight Committee members have indicated they may seek additional documentation to better understand how the assets were valued and whether the disclosures complied with House ethics rules.

Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), the House majority whip, said the issue goes beyond routine disclosure review and merits formal examination.

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“The explosion of wealth, plus the fact that convicted fraudsters helped fund Omar’s campaign, is worth an investigation by the Ethics Committee at the very least,” Emmer said.

The investigation comes amid heightened political attention on financial transparency in Congress and broader scrutiny of fraud cases in Minnesota, though Omar has not been charged or accused of involvement in those cases.

Omar has dismissed the investigation as politically motivated and has denied any wrongdoing. She has previously said her financial disclosures are accurate and that her husband’s business activities are lawful.

A congressional investigation does not itself imply misconduct. Lawmakers frequently review disclosures and request clarifications as part of routine oversight. The House Oversight Committee has not released a timeline for potential hearings or subpoenas.

Democrats have criticized the probe as partisan, arguing that Republicans are targeting a prominent progressive lawmaker. Republicans counter that the inquiry is about transparency and accountability.

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The GOP can’t ‘wield’ the administrative state without being corrupted by it

Many Americans have watched Peter Jackson’s movie trilogy “The Lord of the Rings.” And many have read J.R.R. Tolkien’s books. Some can quote whole passages and trace Tolkien’s deliberate references to the life of Christ and the horror of modern war.

Maybe House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) live in that camp. If not, they should.

The Republicans’ plan cannot be ‘use federal power while we have it, then trust the next guys.’

A crucial scene comes early in the saga. The council debates what to do with the One Ring, the ultimate source of power. Boromir makes an understandable, dangerous suggestion — a perfect expression of fallen man’s temptation: “Give Gondor the weapon of the enemy. Let us use it against him.”

Aragorn stops him with two sentences rooted in humility and truth: “You cannot wield it. None of us can.”

That is the lesson Republicans must learn now, while they still hold majorities.

Dismantle the machine, don’t borrow it

Many supporters of President Trump want Congress to act boldly. They also want something more important: They want Republicans to roll back the reach and scope of the federal government while they can. If the GOP refuses, Democrats will inherit the same machinery and use it without restraint. Not someday. Soon.

If you think I exaggerate by calling Democrats the enemy or warning that we are doomed, consider a recent message from the second-highest-ranking elected congressional Democrat in the country, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York. Jeffries posted a video of White House adviser Stephen Miller on X.com and wrote: “Donald Trump will leave office long before the five-year statute of limitations expires. You are hereby put on notice.”

Jeffries did not allege a crime. He did not explain what Miller did wrong. He did not argue facts or law. He issued a threat: We will punish you later because we can.

That is what Republicans keep forgetting. The federal government’s power does not idle in neutral. It exists to be used. If it remains in place, someone will use it — and progressives have already shown what they want to do with it.

Which raises the central point: Nobody can safely wield that power. Not congressional Republicans. Not any administration. The correct move is not to grab the weapon and promise better behavior. The correct move is to destroy the weapon.

Fraud stories shine a bright light

Start with something as basic as fraud.

Look at the unraveling of the Somali day-care scandal in Minnesota and the billions of stolen tax dollars. That story grew so large that it helped end Minnesota Democrat Gov. Tim Walz’s re-election ambitions. Yet the government did not uncover it.

Not the Government Accountability Office. Not the Congressional Budget Office. Not the Office of Management and Budget. Not House or Senate oversight committees. Not the IRS. Not the Small Business Administration. Not the armies of full-time staffers inside federal agencies reporting up to inspectors general whose job description exists for this very purpose.

All that government power — and it did nothing.

mathisworks via iStock/Getty Images

The scandal came to light because of the tenacity of a 23-year-old guy with a camera. If the federal machine can miss fraud on that scale, imagine what else it misses.

Fraud saturates the system. Estimates run as high as $500 billion — roughly 7% of the $6.8 trillion federal budget. That budget still reflects COVID-era spending levels. In 2019, Washington spent $4.45 trillion. Why did we never return to pre-COVID levels?

Because money is power. And like Boromir, too many people convince themselves they can wield it.

Ethics are not enough

Energy policy shows the same temptation in real time.

My nonprofit organization, Power the Future, sent another letter to House and Senate oversight committees and to Attorney General Pam Bondi urging investigations into Biden’s energy secretary, Jennifer Granholm. In the final days of the Biden administration, Granholm awarded $100 billion in green-energy grants — more than the previous 15 years combined. Many recipients had previously supported her political campaigns.

Green money poured out of Washington through the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act, which allocated $60 billion for “environmental justice” — a phrase so deliberately amorphous that it has no fixed meaning. Team Biden spent $1 trillion “going green,” a statistic Vice President Kamala Harris bragged about during her lone 2024 debate with Donald Trump.

That entire structure still stands.

Nothing prevents the current energy secretary, Chris Wright, from spending billions on his favorite projects except his ethics. I believe Wright has ethics in abundance. We should feel grateful. But one man’s ethics do not qualify as a system of government.

The next secretary could be worse than Granholm. If the power remains, someone will use it.

Viktoriia Melnyk via iStock/Getty Images

Empty the arsenal

Just as in Tolkien’s masterpiece, our enemies do not wait quietly. They scheme. They train. They amass armies of lawyers, activists, operatives, and bureaucrats. They build institutional pipelines that outlast elections. They do not go home after losing once. They plan the return.

Republicans need to plan as well — and their plan cannot be “use federal power while we have it, then trust the next guys.”

One party will not hold Washington forever. When conservatives lose power, they should make sure the left inherits a reduced federal government: weaker, narrower, stripped of the patronage systems and enforcement tools that now function as political weapons.

That is why it is incumbent upon congressional Republicans to do everything in their power — everything — to destroy the Ring.

America’s founders envisioned a weak federal government for this reason. In America’s 250th year, Congress should act like it understands the danger of concentrated power. If Republicans keep the machinery intact, they will regret it. If the Ring finds its next master, it will not spare the people who once held it.

Rand Paul Details FBI Probe That Put Catholic School Teacher On Terror Watch List

The FBI labeled Crowder a domestic terrorist.

Minnesota’s fraud scandal exposes a dangerously loose election system

Fraud investigations are closing in on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), but the scandal reaches beyond any single official.

Minnesota’s election system itself now stands exposed, revealing vulnerabilities that undermine transparency and public confidence.

Election officials cannot plainly explain how the system blocks ineligible voting, and voters have every reason to doubt it.

Recent reporting has drawn renewed attention to just how permissive Minnesota’s election framework has become. The state allows voters to “vouch” for up to eight other individuals at the polls. That practice requires no voter identification and relies entirely on personal attestation. Even on its own, that policy raises serious concerns. Combined with broader governance failures and ongoing fraud investigations, it becomes a glaring liability.

Minnesota’s approach to immigration and identification compounds the problem. In 2023, Walz signed legislation allowing illegal aliens to obtain driver’s licenses.

In most states, such a policy would trigger heightened election safeguards to prevent misuse. Minnesota has no voter ID requirement at all, leaving a dangerous gap between immigration policy and election administration.

Supporters frame these policies as efforts to expand access and remove barriers to voting. But access without accountability produces disorder. Confidence in elections depends on clear rules governing eligibility, verification, and identification. Remove those guardrails, and public trust erodes.

Those vulnerabilities came into sharp focus during an October hearing of the Minnesota House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy Committee. On a recent episode of my "Election Protection Project Podcast," I spoke with state Rep. Patti Anderson (R), the committee’s vice chairman, about her exchange with state Elections Director Paul Linnell.

Anderson repeatedly asked a basic question: Could illegal aliens use driver’s licenses issued under the Walz-signed law to vote?

Linnell refused to give a clear answer.

That exchange exposed Minnesota’s core problem. Election officials cannot plainly explain how the system blocks ineligible voting, and voters have every reason to doubt it. A system without basic safeguards can’t be trusted.

Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Moments like this expose the weakness of claims that voter ID is “unnecessary.” In 2023, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D) opposed a bill requiring photo identification at the polls, arguing that identity is already verified during registration and that ID requirements could suppress turnout. Minnesota’s experience shows why that argument fails. Loose rules invite confusion, abuse, and doubt. Safeguards such as voter ID protect confidence rather than diminish it.

Americans understand this instinctively. A 2024 Pew Research Center survey found that 81% of U.S. adults support requiring voters to show government-issued photo identification, reflecting broad bipartisan support for common-sense safeguards. These measures help ensure that election outcomes remain credible.

Minnesota’s lack of safeguards is especially troubling as the state heads into a critical election year. Voters deserve assurance that their elections will be administered competently and that only eligible citizens can cast ballots.

Election integrity should never be treated as a partisan issue. It forms the foundation of self-government. Without clear rules, accountability, and transparency, the democratic process itself suffers. Minnesota still has the opportunity to restore trust by implementing voter ID and reinforcing citizenship requirements before voters return to the polls.

Tim Walz scurries to defend record after video alleges new Somali-linked fraud

On Friday, independent video journalist Nick Shirley published a video on X that he claims shows widespread fraud involving purported day-care centers in Minnesota. Shirley wrote that he “uncovered over $110,000,000 [in fraud] in ONE day.” The video is the latest public allegation of fraud tied to Minnesota’s Somali community and comes as failed Democrat vice presidential nominee and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz faces renewed scrutiny over the issue.

In the video, Shirley and his team are seen traveling Minnesota and visiting addresses where federally funded day-care centers are supposed to exist. When he arrived, he often found buildings with no children and seemingly no active day-care facilities.

‘There are not enough words to describe the breathtaking failure that has happened under the watch of @GovTimWalz.’

In a clip from Shirley’s video that Education Secretary Linda McMahon shared over the weekend, Shirley is shown standing outside a day-care facility identified as “Quality Learing [sic] Center.” The sign appears to misspell the word “learning.” Shirley says that when he attempted to enter the building during regular weekday hours, it was closed and its windows were blacked out. He also claims the center received $1.9 million in government funding.

In sharing the clip on X, McMahon wrote, “There are not enough words to describe the breathtaking failure that has happened under the watch of @GovTimWalz.”

Blaze Media Illustration and Getty Images

Walz’s office pushed back over the weekend against Shirley’s allegations. Fox News Digital reported Sunday that a spokesperson for Walz said the governor has spent years working to “crack down on fraud” and has taken steps to strengthen oversight of state programs, including launching investigations into several facilities.

The spokesperson also pointed to the state legislature’s role in overseeing the programs and said that at least one business highlighted in Shirley’s reporting had already been shut down by Walz’s administration.

Despite the response, criticism continued. In addition to Education Secretary Linda McMahon, Vice President JD Vance praised Shirley’s work, writing on X, “This dude has done far more useful journalism than any of the winners of the 2024 [Pulitzer] prizes.”

FBI Director Kash Patel said in a post on X that the bureau is aware of the allegations circulating online. Patel wrote that the FBI had already deployed additional personnel and "investigative resources" to Minnesota to address "large-scale fraud" involving federal programs, even before the issue gained widespread attention on social media.

“Fraud that steals from taxpayers and robs vulnerable children will remain a top FBI priority in Minnesota and nationwide,” Patel wrote.

Patel also cited previous arrests and convictions as evidence of the bureau’s ongoing efforts to combat fraud in the state.

BlazeTV host Christopher Rufo disputed Patel’s characterization, calling it “misleading.” In a post on X, Rufo said Patel was taking "credit for investigations and convictions that occurred under the Biden Administration," adding that the unresolved question concerns alleged fraud that has not yet resulted in charges. “When do we see arrests, mugshots, and new prosecutions?” Rufo wrote.

Rufo previously reported on alleged fraud involving Minnesota welfare and health programs earlier this year. As independent journalists such as Shirley continue to highlight the allegations, scrutiny of Minnesota officials, including Walz and U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, has intensified.

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Fani Willis has ugly meltdown when confronted with how much her office paid her ex-lover to prosecute Trump

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis had an ugly meltdown on Wednesday while being questioned by a Georgia state Senate special committee on the topic of her failed prosecution of President Donald Trump.

'Y'all want to come in and be daddy.'

The presentation of evidence in the hearing highlighting how much money Willis' office paid her former lover Nathan Wade apparently struck a nerve.

Quick background

On Nov. 1, 2021, Willis hired Nathan Wade as a special prosecutor for an investigation into possible interference in the state's 2020 general election even though Wade had reportedly never prosecuted a felony case during his time as a prosecutor in Cobb County.

Wade — who had allegedly been romantically involved with Willis for several months prior to accepting the job and filed for divorce against his wife, Jocelyn Wade, the day after securing it — was paid over $650,000 in legal fees before withdrawing from the case in March 2024.

Bank records submitted in Wade's divorce proceedings revealed that Willis, who authorized Wade's compensation, went on luxurious trips with Wade while the Trump investigation was ongoing. Wade apparently paid for some of their travel expenses.

Photo by Dennis Byron-Pool/Getty Images

Willis was disqualified from the case in December 2024 due to the scandalous affair.

Last month, Willis' replacement, Peter Skandalakis, dropped the case, and Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee ordered the case against Trump and the co-defendants "dismissed in its entirety."

Unlike Trump, Willis' problems in Georgia were far from over.

Last year, the Georgia Senate established a special committee to investigate allegations of misconduct against Willis. The Special Committee on Investigations, whose investigation was renewed in January, brought the leftist district attorney in for questioning on Wednesday.

The hearing

In the combative hearing — over the course of which Willis repeatedly tried to pose and answer her own questions and routinely spoke out of turn — state Sen. Greg Dolezal (R) pressed the district attorney about her working relationship with Wade.

When confronted with documents indicating how much her office paid her ex-lover, Willis said, "I don't review those documents. So you're asking me to look at documents that I haven't for the first time."

Willis then launched into a full-throated defense of Wade and his compensation, stating, "What I can tell you is that I allowed Mr. Wade to bill 160 hours a week and then Mr. Wade would be the first one in the office making sure that my staff arrived. He corrected their behavior."

"He got there before them. He left after him [sic]. He taught them how to do this case, and he was a leader to that team and a public servant," continued Willis. "And for that, him, like me, has been threatened thousands of times."

Evidently desperate to change the topic and keen to exercise a well-used reflex , Willis cried racism, telling lawmakers, "You want something to investigate as a legislature? Investigate how many times they've called me the N-word."

At one stage, the diversion-happy district attorney told the lawmakers, "I know y'all want to come in and be daddy and create QAnon committees that will judge prosecutors."

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'Santa, I want the head of a Nazi under my tree': Masked creeps deliver Christmas cards with threatening leftist messages

Jaret McComas told KCBS-TV last week that he found a Christmas card left on his doorstep in Yucaipa, California, and was taken aback by what was written inside.

"I pick it up, open it, and it reads, 'Santa, I want the head of a Nazi under my tree,'" McComas told the station.

'When you have people roaming your neighborhood in black face masks, leaving violent notes and warnings, it's kind of disturbing.'

But he wasn't the only resident in his neighborhood to receive such a card.

Another card read, "Merry Christmas and f**k you Nazi," KCBS said.

Neighborhood resident Scott Ungar told KABC-TV that each card contained a different message: "The one over there said a date, and they said, 'You've been warned,' like they were warning something is going to happen on a specific date."

Ungar added to KABC that "all of the stuff that they were putting in [the cards was] stuff you have been hearing for Antifa."

Ilhan Omar under investigation by House Republicans

Dismantle the machine, don’t borrow it

Fraud stories shine a bright light

Ethics are not enough

Empty the arsenal

Minnesota’s fraud scandal exposes a dangerously loose election system

Fani Willis has ugly meltdown when confronted with how much her office paid her ex-lover to prosecute Trump

Quick background

The hearing

'Santa, I want the head of a Nazi under my tree': Masked creeps deliver Christmas cards with threatening leftist messages

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Harvard Referred 68 Encampment Participants for Discipline. Now, With Classes in Full Swing, None Are Suspended.

Dismantle the machine, don’t borrow it

Fraud stories shine a bright light

Ethics are not enough

Empty the arsenal

Quick background

The hearing

We’ll keep you informed with top stories for conservatives who want to become informed decision makers.