Ilhan Omar hit with ethics complaint over alleged abuse of government resources

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Rep. Ilhan Omar says no lawmakers are trying to prevent parents from being involved in education

Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar says no one in Congress or local government is trying to prevent parents from being involved in education.

FIRST ON FOX: Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar is facing an ethics complaint from a government watchdog group over alleged abuse of government resources, Fox News Digital has learned.

The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT) on Thursday filed a complaint to the Office of Congressional Ethics calling for an immediate investigation into whether Omar violated House rules and abused official resources for political use from a social media account. 

FACT's complaint revolves around Omar's use of TikTok, whose parent company, the Beijing-based ByteDance, has come under fire from critics who allege it's a spy app. FBI Director Christopher Wray said the Chinese government could use TikTok for data operations, and the House of Representatives banned its use on official devices, citing security risks.

"In spite of this, Rep. Omar has a TikTok account that she is clearly using for both official House and political purposes," the watchdog wrote in the complaint. "The biography portion of the account describes her as a 'Congresswoman for #MN05.' She has posted overtly political posts, including video of her urging viewers to support Democrat candidates, a message to Democrats volunteering for campaigns, and several videos of her campaigning and attending campaign events." 

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Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., is being accused of abusing government resources by the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

"Along with this political content, she has also made posts that used official government resources, including C-SPAN footage from the House floor, what appears to be a cell phone video recorded on the House floor, and an interview from what appears to be her House office," the complaint says.

Congressional members, meanwhile, are barred from using official resources for campaign purposes. Lawmakers are also prohibited from using campaign funds for official purposes.

Within the complaint, FACT provides various examples of alleged violations, including one TikTik post of Omar speaking from what appears to be her congressional office regarding the House electing a speaker with the caption, "Long days of historic humiliation extended. [Laughing Emoji]." 

FACT notes that if Omar recorded the video in her congressional office, it violated the prohibition of filming in government offices for campaign or political purposes and the ban on posting political videos on an official social media account.

In another provided example, Omar posted C-SPAN footage of the House floor and the caption, "It's a bad sign for your majority when the only consensus you can find is adjourning. [Laughing emoji]." 

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"The video and caption, and the posting on an account that contains political content make it clear this official House footage was used for political purposes," FACT wrote. "Moreover, a Member cannot use official House floor footage even if it is reposted from a news organization."

Additionally, Omar posted a video of her speaking at a campaign event with accompanying text that reads, "A message to every Democrat around Minnesota out knocking doors and making phone calls today: you are the reason we are going to win on Tuesday. Thank you."

FACT says using the account itself is an abuse of government resources.

"Rep. Omar identifies it as the account of a Congresswoman from Minnesota's Fifth District and uses official government content, thus it is an official social media account," they wrote. "Yet, on this same account she plainly advocates for the election of Democrats and posts campaign content. The use of the account itself for both political and official purposes is an abuse of official resources.

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The allegations of government resource abuse revolve around Omar's use of her TikTok account. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

"Second, the content of several posts are also violations of the ethics rules and an abuse of official resources. For instance, one post contained cell phone video recorded from the House floor that was clearly taken for political purposes. Both the taking and the posting of the video violates two distinct ethics rules, namely the prohibition against taking video in government buildings for campaign or political purposes and the prohibition against posting political videos on an official social media account."

FACT says the laws intend to protect taxpayer-funded resources from abuse and the integrity of official proceedings.

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"These violations are disturbing, and clearly not how members are supposed to be using official resources," Kendra Arnold, FACT's executive director, told Fox News Digital. "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 respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment on the complaint.