Baucus Role at Omar Spouse’s Firm Draws Attention

Former U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, who later served as President Barack Obama’s ambassador to China, was listed as an officer or adviser of Rose Lake Capital, the venture capital firm founded by Tim Mynett, the husband of Rep. Ilhan Omar, before the company quietly removed key leadership details from its website amid mounting scrutiny.

Baucus was among several high-profile Democratic figures whose names and biographies disappeared from Rose Lake Capital’s website between September and October, according to reporting by the New York Post. The removals occurred as federal prosecutors expanded charges in a sweeping welfare fraud case centered in Minnesota’s Somali community — a case involving billions of dollars in alleged misuse of taxpayer funds. None of the Rose Lake officials were charged in the fraud.

Baucus, a longtime Democratic power broker and former chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, served in Congress for more than three decades before his ambassadorship. His appearance on Rose Lake Capital’s leadership roster lent institutional credibility to the relatively opaque firm, which has drawn attention following disclosures showing a dramatic increase in the personal wealth of Rep. Omar and her husband.

Omar, a Minnesota Democrat, reported that she and Mynett went from having little to no significant assets to being worth as much as $30 million in roughly a year, according to financial disclosure filings. The sudden wealth increase has prompted questions from watchdog groups and critics seeking greater transparency into Rose Lake Capital’s investors and business activities.

Paul Kamenar, counsel to the National Legal and Policy Center, said the firm’s shifting public profile raises concerns.

“There’s a lot of strange things going on,” Kamenar said. “She was basically broke when she came into office and now she’s worth perhaps up to $30 million. She needs to come clean on these assets.”

Mynett, a former political consultant, previously operated a consulting firm that handled significant portions of Omar’s campaign spending. After the National Legal and Policy Center filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission in 2019 alleging improper financial benefit, Omar ceased routing campaign payments through Mynett’s firm.

In addition to Baucus, other figures whose names were removed from the Rose Lake Capital website included former Obama administration ambassador Adam Ereli, former Amalgamated Bank CEO Keith Mestrich, Democratic National Committee finance associate Alex Hoffman, and former DNC treasurer William Derrough.

Critics say the removal of leadership information — particularly as scrutiny intensified — only deepens unanswered questions about Rose Lake Capital’s operations and backing.

“Who invested in Rose Lake, what was their motivation, and what did they receive, if anything, in return?” Kamenar asked.

Neither Baucus nor Rose Lake Capital has publicly commented on the removal of officer and adviser information from the firm’s website.

By: Politics406 staff