A Somali councilman in Maine, who was embroiled in a criminal scandal from the day he was sworn in, has already resigned due to the magnitude of the controversy.
I reported here at PJ Media on Iman Osman and how on Monday, the very same day he was sworn in to office on the Lewiston City Council, his fellow councilmen all voted to investigate him over allegations of gun crimes and false residency identification. It would seem the allegations were true, because Osman has already resigned, according to WGME.
Osman’s crimes drew national attention amid a Somali fraud scandal involving fake daycares and food assistance fraud. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) had to give up his reelection bid over complicity in covering up the fraud.
Osman announced his resignation in a letter to his fellow councilmen, according to Maine Public, which quoted Osman: “For the betterment of our community and in the best interest of our city, I believe it is time for me to step aside.”
The accused criminal tried to take a moral high tone: “When I choose to run for city council last year, it was driven by a desire to uplift our community — a place that has been my home since I was a teenager. It's where I pursued my education, started a family and built a business and professional career.”
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Among Osman’s accused crimes are gun theft charges and listing a condemned building owned by his brother as an address to run for office in a district where he was not actually resident. Mayor Carl Sheline also previously nominated Osman to the Lewiston School Committee, but even he was calling for the councilman‘s resignation, perhaps to cover his own mistake.
Allegations of Osman’s residency deception have been floating around since Osman’s service on the School Committee, per Maine Public, but the committee voted not to investigate. It took the City Council to bring some transparency to the issue.
Maine Public made sure to mention that Osman was the first Somali American to be on the Lewiston City Council, as if that were important.
The decision comes after Osman was indicted and arraigned on theft charges and the council voted to investigate his residency qualifications which has caused concern for some residents he represents.
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Now we have to ask — why didn’t the mayor and School Committee previously care about the allegations? Did they just like the idea of Osman in office because he was a token diversity electee?
The real and much greater problem is that we have so many politicians across America who have committed crimes, including violations of federal immigration law, and yet will not face any consequences as Osman did.
Political titles are often a guarantee of invulnerability to criminal justice, which perhaps is partly why Osman wanted to hold elected office. The real question is — are America’s legal authorities serious about pursuing justice for crimes committed by hundreds of other politicians with shady actions or brazen violations?
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