No-fault divorce, which has long been American law, is back in the news after the wife of a Washington political consultant alleged her husband told her he was having an affair with Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, according to court documents obtained by NBC News.

The Capital Gang

Beth Mynett, who works as the medical director of the D.C. Department of Corrections, alleged in court documents that her husband, Tim Mynett, confessed his “devastating and shocking declaration of love” for Omar this past April, which led to the divorce.

According to court filings obtained by the New York Post, “[t]he parties physically separated on or about April 7, 2019, when Defendant told Plaintiff that he was romantically involved with and in love with another woman, Ilhan Omar,” the court papers say.

“Defendant met Rep. Omar while working for her,’’ the document states. “Although devastated by the betrayal and deceit that preceded his abrupt declaration, Plaintiff told Defendant that she loved him, and was willing to fight for the marriage. Defendant, however, told her that was not an option for him’.’

Tim Mynett’s company, the political consulting firm E Street Group, has worked with Omar’s campaign. Federal campaign finance records show that Omar’s campaign paid Tim Mynett $7,000 in July 2018 and E Street Group roughly $222,000 from 2018 to 2019.

The E Street Group said, in part, “E Street Group does not comment on the personal life of either our staff or clients.”

Florida No-Fault Divorce

The official term for divorce in Florida is “dissolution of marriage”, and you don’t need fault as a ground for divorce. Florida abolished fault as a ground for divorce.

I’ve written about divorce and infidelity issues before. The no-fault concept in Florida means you no longer have to prove a reason for the divorce, like your husband’s alleged infidelity with a congresswoman. Instead, you just need to state under oath that your marriage is “irretrievably broken.”

Before the no-fault divorce era, people who wanted to get divorce either had to reach agreement in advance with the other spouse that the marriage was over, or throw mud at each other and prove wrongdoing like adultery or abuse.

No-fault laws were the result of trying to change the way divorces played out in court. No fault laws have reduced the number of feuding couples who felt the need to resort to distorted facts, lies, and the need to focus the trial on who did what to whom.

Face the Nation

Beth Mynett, 55, said in the divorce filing that she was “devastated by the betrayal and deceit that preceded his abrupt declaration,” but she told her husband that she “loved him and was willing to fight for the marriage.” However, she said he told her that “was not an option for him,” according to court documents.

The couple has been together since 2006, married in 2012 and have a 13-year-old son together, according to the divorce filing. The New York Post first reported the story.

Omar, who is married, represents Minnesota and was elected last year. The Somali-born congresswoman has drawn the ire of President Donald Trump, who launched an attack on the group last month by telling them to “go back” to the countries they “originally came from.”

When the Congresswoman was asked by a CBS affiliate:

“Are you separated from your husband? Are you dating somebody? No, I am not” Omar replied. “As I said yesterday, I have no interest in allowing the conversation about my personal life to continue and so I have no desire to discuss it.”

Tim Mynett’s LinkedIn profile shows that he has worked at E Street Group for more than a year and that he provides “national progressive strategies for candidates, nonprofits and advocacy efforts.”

Mynett’s wife is also is seeking child support, ownership of their Washington home and the division of their assets because she is “closer to the end of her professional career” and would be “left to face a financially insecure future as a result of (his) unilateral decision.

The NBC news article is here.