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Minnesota Democrats were greeted with great skepticism on Monday after a party-led investigation into domestic violence charges against Democratic Representative Keith Ellison concluded that the allegations were "unfounded".
Susan Ellingstad, a Minneapolis lawyer hired by the Democrat-Peasant-Worker-Minnesota Party, said her internal investigation was "unable to justify Karen Monahan's allegation of physical abuse". Mr. Ellison's ex-girlfriend, according to the report leaked to the newspaper. The Associated Press.
Minnesota DFL President Ken Martin said in a statement to the media that the party would forward the 15-page report to local authorities "to allow them to review the content and determine whether further investigation was warranted".
Her decision did little to dispel the idea that the investigation was contradictory, given that Ms. Ellingstad was a legal lawyer for DFL attorney Charlie Nauen and that Mr. Ellison was vice-chair of the Democratic National Committee.
"I do not know why anyone would be surprised by this. The Democratic Party hires lawyers close to the Democratic Party to investigate a sensitive candidate. They come back saying, "Not enough here," said University of Minnesota Professor of Political Science Larry Jacobs. "I do not think it was surprising."
Mrs. Monahan was not surprised by the result either. She stated that she "did not expect to be heard, believed, or validated," although she did publish medical records, therapy notes, text messages, and statements from four others. people confirming that she was "in 2017". shared the abuse with them. "
She accused Mr. Ellison of "psychological and physical abuse" as a result of their long-term relationship, which ended in 2016 and resulted in an incident in which she dragged her from bed to foot. he shouted obscenities.
Ms. Monahan also tweeted on Monday that she had texted the interviewer between herself and "one of the other women with whom he was sleeping (putting our health at risk), discussing the times and dates at which we were with him.
Meanwhile, Ellison thanked the DFL for "taking this issue seriously and asking for the investigation".
"I understand that Susan Ellingstad's independent investigation concluded that my former partner's allegation against me was unfounded," he said in a statement. "I would like to thank Ms. Ellingstad for conducting this thorough, independent and fair review, as well as for all who spoke with her for their participation."
His Republican opponent for the Minnesota Attorney General, former state representative Doug Wardlow, called the investigation a "sham", insisting that "credible and well-founded requests for domestic violence against Keith Ellison demonstrates that he is unfit to be Minnesota Attorney General.
"As expected, the false" investigation "conducted by the legal partner of the DFL party attorney concluded in favor of the candidate for the party's attorney general," said Wardlow in a statement. "But publicly available evidence contradicts this conclusion."
Austin, Ms. Monahan's son, said on August 11 on Facebook that he had watched a video of Mr. Ellison dragging his mother out of bed, but Ms. Monahan refused to broadcast it, claiming that it would violate her life private.
Without the video, the report concluded that it was impossible to justify his allegations, especially when weighed against Mr. Ellison's "vehement denial".
"Although I understand why Ms. Monahan refuses to succumb to intimidation and pressure to prove her story, I nonetheless find that the provisional evidence of a serious allegation and then conceal it to the The investigator inevitably raises doubts about it, "the report said.
Last week, Mr. Ellison asked the House ethics committee to investigate the charges. Republicans scoffed at his request, pointing out that he would no longer sit in Congress in January and that an investigation of this type would probably not be completed by November 6. election.
Republican Senator Karin Housley, who is running against Democratic Senator Tina Smith, on Monday called the Minnesota Attorney General's office to conduct her own investigation.
"The recent calls for an investigation into ethics in Congress, initiated by Keith Ellison and resumed by my opponent, are nothing more than a political cover; Ellison will have left Congress when an investigation could be completed, "Housley said.
"These are serious, recent and well founded allegations that deserve immediate attention and raise serious doubts about Keith Ellison's ability to assume the duties of Minnesota's chief legal officer," she said in a statement. .
In 2006, Amy Alexander accused Mr. Ellison of taking away, pushing her and breaking the door of her screen. He denied the allegation and accused her of harassing him, pointing out that he had obtained a no-contact order against him.
Ms. Ellingstad stated in her report that she was focusing solely on Monahan's allegations against Mr. Ellison and that she had also not investigated "prior relationships" of Mrs. Monahan ".
Housley blamed the Democratic senator for continuing to support Mr. Ellison while calling for a "full FBI investigation" into the allegations of sexual assault brought against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a judge who has been charged with a sexual assault. he has denied.
Ms Smith, who said last month that she would vote against Mr Kavanaugh's candidacy, said in a statement Monday that such allegations "must always be taken seriously".
"We are at a pivotal moment in this country, a time that has long been coming," said Ms. Smith. "I think allegations of misconduct must always be taken seriously – and I'm glad they are finally. I also always thought we needed to take the time to investigate the charges and that everyone deserved a process to discover the truth. "
Ms. Monahan hinted on Monday that she had more to say on the issue.
"There is so much more to reveal when it's all over," Monahan tweeted. "Let's keep things going."
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