>>24078104

>eStCru LLC

a wine company run out of a self storage business

https://www.google.com/maps/place/1160+Hopper+Ave+%23B,+Santa+Rosa,+CA+95403/@38.4789795,-122.7415271,136m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m15!1m8!3m7!1s0x808438ed321719c9:0xf92400562c0747d!2s1160+Hopper+Ave+%23B,+Santa+Rosa,+CA+95403!3b1!8m2!3d38.4791031!4d-122.7410232!16s%2Fg%2F11nnkt__7n!3m5!1s0x808438ed321719c9:0xf92400562c0747d!8m2!3d38.4791031!4d-122.7410232!16s%2Fg%2F11nnkt__7n?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MTIwOS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

eSt Cru

1160 Hopper Ave #B

Santa Rosa CA 95403

hello@estcru.co

https://web.archive.org/web/20220119102726/https://estcru.co/trade-media

>>24078137

>a wine company run out of a self storage business

F D R

Clerk of the House of Representatives • Legislative Resource Center • B81 Cannon Building • Washington, DC 20515

F I

Name: Hon. Ilhan Omar

Status: Member

State/District: MN05

F I

Filing Type: Annual Report

Filing Year: 2024

Filing Date: 05/14/2025

S A: A "U" I

Asset Owner Value of Asset Income Type(s) Income Tx. >

$1,000?

Congressional Credit Union Savings Account [BA] $1,001 - $15,000 Interest $1 - $200

ESTCRU LLC [OL] SP $1,000,001 -

$5,000,000

Partnership

Income

$5,001 - $15,000

L: Santa Rosa, CA, US

D: Winery.

Rose Lake Capital LLC [OL] SP $5,000,001 -

$25,000,000

Partnership

Income

None

L: Washington, DC, US

D: Venture Capital Management.

Ameriprise Retirement SEP IRA ⇒

MFS Global Equity Fund Class C (MWECX) [MF]

SP $1,001 - $15,000 Tax-Deferred

Ameriprise Retirement IRA ⇒

Ameriprise Insured Money Market (AIMMA) [BA]

SP $1,001 - $15,000 Tax-Deferred

Minnesota State Retirement System ⇒

Minnesota Target Retirement 2050 [MF]

$15,001 - $50,000 Tax-Deferred

• Investment Vehicle details available at the bottom of this form. For the complete list of asset type abbreviations, please visit

>> https://disclosures-clerk.house.gov/public_disc/financial-pdfs/2024/10068415.pdf

>>24078048

>U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar’s husband accused of swindling investor in their California winery

>>24078104

>-Tim Mynett (manager)

>- Will Hailer (manager and managing membe

>>24078137

>a wine company run out of a self storage business

>>24078143

>ESTCRU LLC [OL] SP $1,000,001 -

>$5,000,000

Written by Bill Glahn | February 27, 2023

Under-fire DFL politico bragged about electing Ilhan Omar to Congress

Last week, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported on the ongoing businessdisputes between a prominent DFL politico and a group of South Dakota cannabis entrepreneurs.

It turns out that the politico,Will Hailer, is the business partner of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s current and third husband, Tim Mynett. We wrote about the dispute in this piece.

Mynett is famous because his firm,eStreet Group, received millions of dollars from his wife’s congressional campaign for consulting work during Omar’s 2018 and 2020 runs for Congress.

After the arrangement became public, there was much criticism around the husband/wife, Mynett-Omar nepotism angle. The connection between Hailer and Omar was less reported on.

Back in April 2020, WCCO-TV did report on the connections, linking to a post where Will Hailer wrote about the eStreet firm’s efforts to elect Omar to Congress. Hailer defended the firm’s work for Omar, writing that she was one of the firm’s original clients when it was formed in 2018 by Hailer and Mynett.

In fact, the company eStreet Group LLC was not incorporated until July 2018, according to reports, after Omar had declared her candidacy for Congress.

[Hailer claimed in a legal filing (p. 32) in October 2019 that eStreet executed contracts with Omar beginning in June 2018.]

Hailer brags about how, with eStreet’s guidance, Omarled the nation in 2018 in voter turnout, among all non-incumbents running for Congress. (We’ve previously written about her uncanny ability to generate votes).

Omar herself endorsed their work, writing on Twitter in 2020,

Here is a happy Omar celebrating her win in 2018,

Nonetheless, for the 2022 election cycle, Omar’s campaign moved on from eStreet, with the exception of a few small payments. Having lost their No. 1 client, eStreet was forced to diversify, apparently first focusing on wine and beverages, then later cannabis.

In February 2021, the Washington Free Beacon reported that Mynett and Hailer were promoting an eStreet spinoff:

According to the website, eStreet will work to “elevate the voices of underrepresented entrepreneurs in the winemaking and beverage industries.”

An early eStreet effort based in Santa Rosa, CA, has already won awards for their winemaking.

Cheers!

https://www.americanexperiment.org/tag/estcru/?page=

>>24078167

>her uncanny ability to generate votes).

Ilhan Omar’s current husband linked to South Dakota weed lawsuit

A firm connected to Ilhan Omar’s current husband, Tim Mynett, is being sued in Hennepin County district court over a business dispute involving South Dakota cannabis start-up companies.

South Dakota has a medical cannabis program approved by voters in 2020. An effort to legalize recreational marijuana in South Dakota failed last November.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported on the lawsuit, which was filed back in December in Hennepin County, under the headline,

Lawsuit: Former DNC and Minn. political operative defrauded South Dakota cannabis companies

The operative in question is named Will Hailer. The lawsuit claims that he is currently a resident of Nebraska.

An archived copy of his website,www.willhailer.com (tag line: “Private Equity. Venture Capital. Former Politico.”), says that he is the CEO and co-founder of Rose Lake Capital. In a long resume, he formerly served as the executive director of the Texas Democratic Party and ran political campaigns for Keith Ellison, Al Franken, Amy Klobuchar, and Ilhan Omar, among others.

Hailer’s LinkedIn page lists Rose Lake and eStCru as current employers and mentions having co-founded the eStreet Group.

Rose Lake Capital lists Hailer as CEO and Mynett as Vice Chair. Although Rose Lake Capital is mentioned in the lawsuit, the firm is not a defendant in the case. Rose Lake bills itself as a public benefit company.

Listed as a Senior Advisor at Rose Lake Capital is former Minnesota state Rep. Kate Knuth, who also served in Minneapolis city government and ran for mayor in 2021, finishing runner up. Also listed as a Senior Advisor to the firm is former Minnesota Congressman Collin Peterson. Other senior advisors include a retired U.S. Senator and three retired diplomats.

The lawsuit lists Hailer personally and eSt Ventures as defendants. The lawsuit additionally lists as defendants two eSt Ventures’ subsidiaries: Badlands Fund and Badlands Ventures. All three companies listed are incorporated in Delaware.

Ilhan Omar’s third and current husband, Tim Mynett, is not a defendant personally in the case. However, his name appears three times in the lawsuit (p. 3), described as Hailer’s “associate” and as the co-founder of the three defendant companies.

For his part, Mynett lists three current employers on his LinkedIn page: Rose Lake Capital, eSt Ventures, and the eStreet Group.

The first two corporate names are mentioned in the lawsuit (p. 3). However, as previously mentioned, only the second (eSt Ventures) is a defendant.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are eight South Dakota-based start-up cannabis companies and 15 individual investors. Twelve of the individuals are South Dakota residents, the other three reside in other states. Not one of them resides in Minnesota.

So, how did this lawsuit involving companies based in Delaware and South Dakota, and parties from around the country end up in Minnesota? As paragraph 24 of the lawsuit explains, that’s what the parties previously agreed to.

The crux of the lawsuit hinges on the claim that Hailer took $3.5 million from the investors and failed to deliver on promises of raising millions more in additional funds for the cannabis startups. The lawsuit says that Hailer has, so far, returned only half the money to investors. Apparently, the South Dakotans dealt only with Hailer. A hearing is set for April, with a trial scheduled for December.

In the end, the entire dispute may turn out to be a garden-variety commercial disagreement involving over-promises and under-delivery. In the meantime, the political connections are fascinating to unwrap.

Long-time readers will recognize the eStreet Group. The is the DC-based consulting firm that Congresswoman Omar paid $2.9 million out of campaign funds.

The UK Daily Mail reports that Omar’s $2.9 million represented 80 percent of the firm’s revenue during a period from 2019 to 2020. The business relationship has reportedly ended. The couple now resides in Washington, DC, according to reports.

Omar married Mynett in March 2020, following an affair that dated back to at least July 2019.

The lawsuit can be viewed below.

>>24078174

>Ilhan Omar’s current husband linked to South Dakota weed lawsuit

what can you tell me about "estcru llc"

eStCru LLC (often stylized as eStCru or ESTCRU LLC) is a California-based wine company incorporated on July 2, 2020, as a domestic limited liability company (LLC) with the California Secretary of State (document number 202018810577). It remains active.

The company operates in the wine industry, producing and selling wines under creative brand names such as:

• Blockchain

• Overt

• Fizzical

• Clothesline

• Staring at the Sun

• Heavy Hitter

• Paracosm

It partners with small-lot growers in regions like Lodi, Clarksburg, Sonoma County, Willamette Valley (Oregon), and the Central Coast. Wines include Chardonnays and Zinfandels, with eye-catching labels.The associated website is estcru.co (though activity appears limited recently), and it has a Facebook page with sporadic posts, the last notable one from early 2023.

### Key People and Locations

Key individuals associated include:

-Tim Mynett (manager)

• Will Hailer (manager and managing member)

Addresses linked to the company are in Santa Rosa, CA (e.g., 1160 Hopper Ave) and Sacramento, CA. Some promotional descriptions mention leadership by Paul Munoz and winemaker Erica Stancliff, butbusiness filings primarily list Mynett and Hailer.

### Notable Connections and Controversies

The company gained public attention due to its connection to Tim Mynett, who ismarried to U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN). Mynett and his business partner Will Hailer have been involved in eStCru.

In 2024, reports emerged of a lawsuit accusing Mynett and Hailer of defrauding an investor in the winery by promising high returns that did not materialize. The defendants denied the allegations, attributing issues to challenging industry conditions (e.g., post-COVID economic pressures on wineries). The investor's principal was returned, but additional damages were sought.

Separately, Hailer settled a unrelated $1.2 million debt in 2024 tied to a cannabis venture. Congressional financial disclosures for Rep. Omar have listed spousal income from eStCru (small amounts in recent years) and related entities.

Recent estimates suggest modest revenues (around $200k–$500k annually) with a small team. Some 2025 reports note an increased asset valuation for the company in disclosures (up to $1–5 million), though online presence and sales activity appear low.

Overall, eStCru LLC is a small, niche winery with innovative branding but limited scale and some public scrutiny due to its owners' profiles and legal disputes.

>>24078294

>what can you tell me about "estcru llc"

summarize what happened with this lawsuit

<https://files.americanexperiment.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/MCRO_27-CV-22-18279_Summons-and-Complaint_2022-12-12_20230223205340.pdf?v=1677210154>

The provided PDF is the summons and complaint filed on December 12, 2022, in Minnesota District Court (case number 27-CV-22-18279) by a group of South Dakota-based cannabis companies and individual investorsagainst Will Hailer (a former Democratic operative and business partner of Tim Mynett) and his companies: eSt Ventures LLC, Badlands Fund GP LLC, and Badlands Ventures LLC.

### Key Details from the Complaint

• Plaintiffs: Dakota Natural Growers, Inc.; 605 Cannabis, LLC; several related entities; and numerous individual investors (friends, family, and acquaintances of the principals).

• Defendants: Will Hailer (personally) and the three Delaware-registered venture entities he controlled (principal place in Washington, D.C.).

• Allegations:

• Hailer and his firms solicited ~$3.54 million in investments for a cannabis-focused fund, promising that the money would primarily go toward expanding the plaintiffs' South Dakota cannabis operations (post-medical cannabis legalization).

• Specific misrepresentations included claims of securing external investors (allegedly false), vetting hundreds of opportunities, and committing to invest heavily in the plaintiffs' companies.

• Instead, only part of the funds were advanced as promised; the rest (~$1.68 million) was allegedly misappropriated for unauthorized uses.

• Additional claims of ongoing deception (fake updates on fund progress, excuses for delays) and refusal to allow inspection of books.

• Causes of Action: Breach of contract, fraudulent inducement, fraud, conversion, and request for specific performance.

• Relief Sought: Return of misappropriated funds (~$1.68 million+), rescissory damages (~$3.54 million), punitive damages, interest, fees, and enforcement of a November 2022 settlement agreement that defendants allegedly breached.

Note: This lawsuit is separate from the eStCru LLC winery matter (which involved a different investor alleging fraud over a $300,000 investment promising 200% returns). Tim Mynett is mentioned briefly in related reporting as Hailer's associate/co-founder of the defendant companies but is not named as a defendant here.

### What Happened Afterward

• In April 2023, the parties reached a settlement agreement for the defendants to pay $1.7 million.

• Only $500,000 was paid initially.

• This led to a confession of judgment in October 2023, where the defendants admitted owing the remaining $1.2 million.

• By 2024, Will Hailer settled the outstanding $1.2 million debt, resolving the case.

The lawsuit effectively ended with a partial initial payment followed by a confessed judgment and final settlement—no public reports of a full trial or further litigation on this specific case as of early 2026.

>>24078296

###Overview of the eStCru Winery Lawsuit

The lawsuit involving eStCru LLC (a small California-based winery co-owned by Tim Mynett—husband of U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar—and his business partner Will Hailer) stems from a 2021 investment dispute. It is a civil case alleging fraud and breach of contract, separate from the unrelated 2022-2024 cannabis venture lawsuit involving Hailer (and partially Mynett's prior entities).

#### Key Facts

• Investor: Naeem Mohd, a Washington, D.C.-area restaurant owner.

• Investment: In fall 2021, Mohd wired $300,000 to Mynett and Hailer after being promised a 200% return (total $900,000 repayment) within 18 months. The funds were intended to process grapes (paid to them by a former client) into wine, with Mohd purchasing "membership units" in eStCru.

• Outcome of Investment: The promised profits never materialized. Mynett and Hailer returned only the principal $300,000 in November 2022 (about a month late). No additional returns or interest were paid.

#### Lawsuit Details

• Filing: The complaint was filed in fall 2023 (likely in California Superior Court, based on reporting) by attorney Faisal Gill on behalf of Mohd.

• Allegations:

• Fraudulent misrepresentation that eStCru was a "legitimate company" with viable prospects.

• Breach of contract for failing to deliver the agreed-upon returns.

• Claims the high-return promise was unrealistic and misleading.

• Relief Sought: At least $780,000 in damages (covering lost profits, interest, and penalties).

• Defendants' Response: Mynett and Hailer denied fraud, attributing failures to post-COVID economic challenges in the wine industry (e.g., wineries "living invoice to invoice"). They described it as a legitimate but struggling business. Their lawyers warned against defamatory reporting, calling any fraud claims false.

#### Winery Context

• eStCru produced limited wines (e.g., brands like Blockchain, Overt) with winemaker Erica Stancliff (who reportedly stopped being paid in early 2023).

• The business had low activity: website inactive, last social media in 2023, modest revenues.

• In congressional disclosures, its value jumped dramatically (from $15,000–$50,000 in 2023 to $1–5 million in 2024), amid broader scrutiny of Mynett's assets.

#### Current Status (as of January 2026)

• The case was settled out of court sometime in late 2024 or 2025 (reports reference settlement "last year" or in November).

• Settlement Terms: Undisclosed amount paid by eStCru/Mynett/Hailer to Mohd. No admission of wrongdoing; defendants maintained industry hardships caused the issues.

• No public reports of ongoing litigation, trial, or further developments.

This case drew media attention due to Mynett's connection to Rep. Omar, but sources across outlets (e.g., Minnesota Reformer, Wine-Searcher, conservative sites) consistently report the same core facts: a high-risk investment gone sour, repaid principal only, denied fraud, and eventual private settlement. The winery remains low-profile with limited operations.

>>24078297

Former Democratic operative settles $1.2 million debt with South Dakota cannabis growers

Will Hailer and his business partner Tim Mynett, husband of Rep. Ilhan Omar, still face another lawsuit alleging they defrauded an investor in their California winery

By: Max Nesterak - August 1, 2024 5:04 pm

Marijuana plants at a 605 Cannabis grow operation. Courtesy photo.

Former Minnesota DFL political operativeWill Hailer paid $1.2 million to settle a lawsuitbrought by two South Dakota cannabis companies and their investors accusing him of fraud.

The case ends a two-year saga that began when Hailer approached 605 Cannabis founder Ned Horsted with an attractive business opportunity for him and the two founders of another cannabis company, Dakota Natural Growers.

Hailer promised he would bring in an additional $7.5 million in investment for the cannabis growers if they gave him the $3.54 million they raised from friends, family and acquaintances.

Hailer, whopreviously worked for the Democratic National Committee and for Attorney General Keith Ellison, met Horsted years before through Democratic politics.

“He tells a great story,” Horsted said of Hailer in an interview earlier this year. “It made sense in my mind.If you’re well connected, and you could pick up the phone and get someone to give $100,000 to a campaign, you could probably get that same kind of money for a business venture.”

The additional investment never materialized despite months of promises that the money was just days or weeks aways, according to court documents.

Hailer returned $1.86 million in August 2022 and another $500,000 in October 2023 after the cannabis business owners and their investors sued Hailer and three of his companies, eST Ventures, Badlands Fund and Badland Ventures.

The latest settlement and $1.2 million payment means the cannabis entrepreneurs andinvestors have received all of their own money back after giving Hailer control of it in early 2022.Mid term election year

Jason Tarasek, the attorney for the cannabis companies, declined to comment beyond that they “amicably resolved their dispute.” The case was settled in Nebraska, where Hailer lives.

It’s unclear how Hailer was able to pay the settlement. As the Reformer reported in June, discovery documents in the case showed Hailer had less than $750 combined across various business and personal bank accounts.

Hailer did not respond to an email seeking comment.

>>24078048

>The pair had been paid in grapes by a former clientand had hired a well-respected Sonoma winemaker to turn those grapes into profit. They promised if they didn’t pay Mohd the full $900,000 on time, they would tack on 10% monthly interest on any outstanding balance, according to the contract shared with the Minnesota Reformer.

who pays someone else in grapes? and then who receives those grapes and creates a fraud business to fleece investors with said business?

>>24078398

>who pays someone else in grapes? and then who receives those grapes and creates a fraud business to fleece investors with said business?

My firm’s work with Ilhan for Congress

Will Hailer

Will Hailer

Apr 18 · 8 min read

In 2018 I co-founded E Street Group LLC, a business focused on comprehensive political support to progressive candidates and causes across the country. My business partner since we launched has been Tim Mynett, a fundraising expert who has spent two decades raising millions of dollars and building political power for progressive candidates and causes across the country. One of our first clients when we launched was Ilhan for Congress. This is the story of partnership between our company and their campaign.

Within five minutes after receiving the call from Keith Ellison that he was running for Attorney General in Minnesota and thus stepping down from Congress and eventually the DNC, I had texted, called and DMed Ilhan Omar asking her if she was going to run.

I’d had the pleasure of organizing alongside Ilhan for more than a decade. I saw as early as 2011 when I was the Campaign Manager for Keith Ellison how dedicated she was to improving the lives of our neighbors in Minneapolis and its surrounding communities.

Under the leadership of Keith Ellison (who chose to undertake the hard work that few incumbent members of Congress do),MN’s 5th District turned itself into an organizing powerhouse that delivered statewide after statewide wins for Democrats. If you look at congressional electoral results over the past two decades, Democrats that perform on the same level of net marginal victory as Keith Ellison and Ilhan Omar actually have some of the lowest voter turnout and engagement.

Image for post

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In my opinion, this problem of low voter turnout is often fueled by elected officials who either don’t want to have to run spirited and engaged political campaigns or by those who no longer accurately reflect the voice of their constituents in a way in which not showing up is beneficial to drive down awareness. This is a problem that both parties have and something that is really unique about the type of leaders Keith Ellison and Ilhan Omar are.

Over the last several election cycles, the constituents of the 5th Congressional District have had an incredible organizer in Keith Ellison pushing turnout and ensuring voters come to the polls.

In 2018, Ilhan carried on that tradition with the highest-performing Democratic turnout in the state of Minnesota. Across the country, Ilhan outperformed 428 Congressional members (out of 435) with the 7th-highest raw vote count. She was also the top national vote receiver for non-incumbents.

This was no doubt possible not only because of the amazing work of so many partners and organizers but alsodue to same-day voter registration, early voting and a state that constantly prioritizes the enfranchisement of voters.

Ilhan’s fundraising in 2018 allowed her to not only run a robust field effort that helped ensure voter turnout in high numbers for statewide races but allowed her to donate to 19 Red to Blue DCCC candidates who won their tough races. In fact, Ilhan was the largest donor to DCCC candidates among her congressional freshman class.

In 2018, Ilhan had thousands of individuals who donated to our historic campaign — and she led all the Democrats elected to Congress from Minnesota in 2018 in her percentage of grassroots donations (those under $200).

Because of what is at stake in 2020 there is no doubt in my mind that political opponents of Ilhan will stop at nothing to attack her for the legal and professional relationship between E Street Group LLC and Ilhan for Congress.

I would even humbly say that the relationship is necessary — together we have fueled huge fundraising, driven turnout and will hopefully be the reason that Trump not only loses Minnesota but we return Democrats to Congress and the state legislature in Minnesota and across the country.

But I think it is important to dive into two things: (1) my business partner, Tim Mynett, and the way he is being portrayed and (2) some of the fundraising and expenditures by Ilhan for Congress.

>>24078489

>But I think it is important to dive into two things: (1) my business partner, Tim Mynett, and the way he is being portrayed and (2) some of the fundraising and expenditures by Ilhan for Congress.

First — Tim Mynett. Tim and I met almost a decade ago while both working for Keith Ellison. I served as Keith Ellison’s campaign manager in the Fifth Congressional District. At the time, Tim was almost a decade into a fundraising career. He was working at a firm and had multiple clients. By this point I had worked with numerous consultants and Tim was the best I had worked with. He was a rockstar. He had great relationships with national progressive donors, donors of Islamic faith and donors who cared about Minnesota. He produced results for Keith Ellison that no other fundraiser could because of his attention to detail, his passion and his deep roots in these communities.

His personal relationship with the Congresswoman began long after our work for Ilhan started. And while their personal decision to enter into marriage is really one ones business but theirs, I couldn’t be happier that two of the most talented, kindest people I know found love and happiness.

This has had no bearing on our work. Like other campaign staff, family members can complete work for a campaign as long as they are providing a bona fide service (which we are) and the payments reflect the fair market value of those services (which they do). This rule is stated clearly on the FEC website and available for anyone to read.

Enough about Tim — let’s look at those reports.

The FEC actually makes reporters’ jobs pretty easy. You can easily pull all the fundraising data for congressional members and candidates.

Ending the 2018 campaign cycle, Ilhan had $54,829.27 in “cash on hand.” Since 1/1/2019 Ilhan has raised $3,388,551.38. She has spent $1,919,964.32.

It’s worth noting, as a freshman Member of Congress, she is already one of the most prolific fundraisers in the country. Some interesting facts about the campaign’s fundraising and budget compared to others.

● Just 30 members of Congress have raised more than Ilhan. The majority of those campaigns have spent more than Ilhan. At least 9 campaigns who have raised less than Ilhan have spent more than her.

● 97.7% of her contributions come from individuals (Ilhan does take financial support from labor unions and progressive organizations), giving her the-fifth highest rate of individual gifts out of all members of Congress (and certainly something she is going to ask us to improve upon).

● Ilhan has transferred (“donated”) $168,269 from her committee to other critical organizations like the Minnesota DFL, the Human Rights Campaign, TakeAction Minnesota, Outfront Minnesota, WomenWinning and Jewish Community Action.

● Ilhan is the only Democratic congressional member from Minnesota whose campaign has donated to both the Minnesota DFL and other candidates running for office. (This point isn’t to critique other members of the Minnesota delegation, many of whom have tough races, but to remind folks what Ilhan is making investments in more than just her own campaign).

She also has a lower than average “burn rate.” That is the amount you spend to raise and how quickly you are spending money. Ilhan Omar’s has one of the lowest in Congress, meaning she spends relatively little compared to how much she raises. And of the Members of Congress who have lower burn rates, the vast majority loaned their campaigns money directly.

Next, some background on our team and our services.

We currently have more than 18 employees in offices located in DC, Phoenix, Long Beach and Sacramento. Multiple people touch Ilhan’s account each day and week. We provide the following services: high-dollar fundraising and event planning/staffing, grassroots fundraising through email and direct donate online ads, non-fundraising digital work including emails, social media, content creation and design, non-fundraising direct mail, full service video (creation, shooting, editing, mixing), ad buying, and things that a political operative would consider “general consulting services” like political plan writing, document editing, field plan monitoring, endorsement support, strategic planning, etc.

Each of these services are services that we provide other political campaigns up and down the ticket across the country as well as 501c3, 501c4, 527 and for-profit entities. The only member of Congress that we provide this full suite of services for is Ilhan for Congress.

When you go to pull expenditures on the FEC website, you can only get the processed files for 2019. So the analysis below will look just at 2019 expenditures until the FEC has processed the Q1 data.

>>24078489

>>24078498

The numbers I am using here are just from the excel spreadsheets and don’t include any modifications for purposes of in-kinds, etc.

The 2019 file says $1,300,355.25 in disbursements. E Street Group LLC received $523,441.88 in disbursements from the campaign — or roughly 40% of disbursements in 2019 went to E Street Group LLC.

We have two monthly retainers with the campaign: $5,000 for digital (including ads, email and social media) and $12,000 for non-digital fundraising and political consulting. $204,000 then or roughly 15% of the expenditures going to E Street Group LLC were for “generic” consulting services. A quick look at a disbursement download from the FEC (and our general knowledge of the industry as well as legal advice) put these at fair market value for the services we provide.

Every other receipt or disbursement was a fee-for-cost. Let’s walk through some of those though.

In 2019 we got reimbursed for $29,940 in travel expenses — something that happens with a majority of political campaigns and consultants — though some political campaigns do pay those costs directly. We actually love when a campaign pays those costs directly because it keeps political reporters from attacking us for getting reimbursed for “all these travel expenses.”

However, early last year, after several threats were made against the Congresswoman’s life, security experts advised the campaign and her consultants to take special precautions with her travel arrangements. That required additional spending and it also required names showing up on reservations that didn’t include the very obvious name Ilhan Omar. In 2019 at least four members of E Street’s staff traveled for the Congresswoman’s campaign.

The vast majority of the rest of the expenditures are those that come to our firm and are then passed on to another vendor like Facebook, Google or Centro (for digital ads), print shops, the United States Postal Service or data companies. We attach bills, invoices and receipts like we would for any other client when we send those to the campaign.

I know this information will not stop rightwing ideological outlets from their continued coverage of these services. I know there will continue to be hate, smears, and threats directed at the Congresswoman from Republicans who would like to discredit her — from the President of the United States on down. But I hope responsible journalists will take the time put aside any personal feelings they have and learn about Ilhan’s inspiring campaign and the small role we have played in its success.

Will Hailer

Written by

Will Hailer

Partner at eStreet Group. Fights for progressive causes and candidates for RPH and our country’s future. Former DNC Senior Advisor.

https://web.archive.org/web/20200729104304/https://medium.com/@will_96784/my-firms-work-with-ilhan-for-congress-449ed2ac6735