Key Sentence:
- MEP Ilhan Omar’s Book (D-Min.)
- According to his literary agent, he makes no money from his memoirs, explaining why his book business is not mentioned in his annual financial information.
“Any advance payment for the book was made to a congressman staff member, not a congressman per House of Ethics instructions. Aand he made no money from the book,” said Steve Ross, Omar’s Book agent. “Everything you hear about the financial benefits of this book is baseless – and false – speculation.”
Omar signed a deal with HarperCollins for “This Is What America Looks Like” worth about $100,000 plus around he entered Congress in 2019, Forbes reports. However, according to Ross, the advance went to Omar’s co-writer, Rebecca Paley.
Omar’s book sales are unlikely to reach this threshold by the end of 2020. Omar’s memoir, released in May, sold 9,500 copies in the US last week. According to NPD BookScan, an industry data service provider.
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“He wrote the book to tell his story, not for financial reasons,” Ross said.
Omar’s disclosure also did not mention his book deal. The House Ethics Committee has advised lawmakers not to report book deals on their annual revelations.
At least two government observers have asked the Congressional Ethics Bureau to investigate Omar’s book dealings. However, Paul Kamenar of the National Center for Law and Politics, the lawyer representing one of them still argues that book transactions should be disclosed. “The book deal is an asset in itself,” said Kamenar. “It doesn’t always have to be feasible, but it’s still intellectual property and should only be reported for that reason.”
If the ethics committee rules do not require members of Congress to disclose their book offerings, Kamenar believes the rules need to be changed to increase transparency.