Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) may have placed herself on the wrong side of the law by mixing work and play on her TikTok account.
The House of Representatives in December deemed the Chinese spyware app too dangerous for staffers to use on official devices due to "security risks."
But that hasn't stopped Omar from abusing taxpayer resources to cultivate a TikTok following of nearly 250,000, a watchdog group charged in a complaint Thursday. The group alleges Omar's use of TikTok for both campaign and official activities is a "clear" violation of House ethics rules and demanded that the Office of Congressional Ethics ensure the Democratic lawmaker deletes the app from her government devices.
"These violations are disturbing, and clearly not how members are supposed to be using official resources," said Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust executive director Kendra Arnold. "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 and her fellow "Squad" members are among the few TikTok defenders remaining in Congress as a bipartisan consensus has emerged on the need to ban the Chinese-controlled app. Omar said Tuesday a unilateral ban of the app might violate the First Amendment. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) on Saturday posted a TikTok video saying a ban "just doesn't feel right to me."
Ocasio-Cortez serves as an adviser to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, which in December accepted a $150,000 contribution from TikTok, the Washington Free Beacon reported. Another "Squad" member, Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D., N.Y.), last Tuesday also came to TikTok's defense, saying "xenophobia around China" was behind the drive to ban the app.
"Posting political content on an official social media account is an abuse of government resources," the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust complaint states. "Rep. Omar's use of her TikTok account and the content posted on that account appear to be clear violations."
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Source: Washington Free Beacon