Emails suggest Ilhan Omar's crisis management team responds to unfavorable coverage by trying to 'shut it down' [screenshots]

Sarah D | 1:30 PM on June 13, 2019

The Minnesota Star Tribune recently published an editorial on Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar’s, um, “tax return irregularities,” aka her falsely filing joint tax returns with a man who wasn’t her husband while being legally married to another man.

“Omar, for two years running, filed joint tax returns with a man she was living with but not legally married to. Complicating matters further, she was legally married to another man at the time.” https://t.co/KAI7IgHYMQ

— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) June 12, 2019

The Star Tribune’s editorial was pretty brutal. Wonder how Ilhan Omar’s team will feel about that today, in light of this:

My God. Props to @bloisolson for sharing.

From @IlhanMN’s crisis manager Ben Goldfarb:

“Does anyone in the team have a relationship with Blois? Someone should probably reach out to talk off the record and shut it down with him AS WE DO WITH THE STRIB” [emphasis added]

THREAD pic.twitter.com/cFx49KxZCm

— Nick Solheim (@NickSSolheim) June 13, 2019

There are A NUMBER of concerning things here.

1. @IlhanMN's team attempting to shut down a legitimate inquiry into tax fraud by a local journalist.

2. Admitting verbatim that they have employed such tactics before for Minnesota's largest paper (@StarTribune)

— Nick Solheim (@NickSSolheim) June 13, 2019

3. @IlhanMN's campaign staff is SO unwilling to go on the record with reputable journalists (Can't speak more highly of @bloisolson) that they resort to finding a fixer who has a "relationship" with Blois to "shut down" the story.

There's got to be something nefarious here.

— Nick Solheim (@NickSSolheim) June 13, 2019

4. I, for one, would like to hear comment from the @StarTribunePR on what stories have been "shut down" by @IlhanMN's crisis manager through personal relationships, off-the-record interviews, and intimidation tactics.

Any journalists care to comment?

— Nick Solheim (@NickSSolheim) June 13, 2019

I traditionally have considered the @StarTribune to be a reputable outlet (aside from the awful editorial board)

If @IlhanMN's fixer was able to shut down stories from the Star Tribune, imagine how many stories do you think they shut down from @MinnPost, @citypages, and others?

— Nick Solheim (@NickSSolheim) June 13, 2019

From @powerlineblog: pic.twitter.com/soCAsmgRSL

— Nick Solheim (@NickSSolheim) June 13, 2019

Now, for what it’s worth, Fluence Media principal Blois Olson, whose 2016 item about Omar prompted her team’s response, said nothing came of Omar’s team’s talk:

NOTE: No one ever reached out. We weren’t “shut down”.

But that’s little comfort considering they were even discussing it in the first place. They may have left Olson alone, but what about others? If Ilhan Omar’s team was indeed looking at ways to “shut down”negative coverage by the Star Tribune, how will they deal with the editorial board publishing such a damning piece on Omar this week?