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ST. PAUL — When I came to work Monday morning, I heard that Rep. Ilhan Omar had filed for divorce from her longtime husband, Ahmed Hirsi. A quick search of the Hennepin County District Court website confirmed Ilhan filed for a divorce on Friday.
We wrote about it. After we published, several people asked me what made Ilhan’s divorce newsworthy.
The simple answer is that writing about the divorce filing puts facts to an issue where misinformation has ruled.
Her personal life — and whether or not she was really married to her husband — has been fodder for constant speculation and misinformation from conservative media and even President Trump.
The divorce filing, which is public, puts rumors to rest. We needed to document that.
Ilhan is also an elected official, and the lives of public officials are subject to more scrutiny than regular citizens. They give up part of their privacy for the privilege of representing us.
Ilhan decided to file for divorce in a public court. As news publication, we are obliged to document that.
