Ken Martin, chairman of Minnesota’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party, touted his party’s record of supporting women in an interview that aired just days after he publicly declared that he does “not believe” Rep. Keith Ellison’s (D-MN-05) accuser.
During a Wednesday press conference, Martin expressed his “support” for Ellison’s ex-girlfriend, Karen Monahan, in “bringing her allegations forward.”
“That’s how you change culture. Not brushing them under the rug, not discounting them,” he said, but admitted that he doesn’t believe the allegations when pressed by a reporter.
“We took them seriously. We conducted an outside, independent investigation, and that investigation showed we could not substantiate her claim of domestic abuse. And so I do not believe her. I believe our investigation,” Martin continued.
The investigation, however, was widely criticized by Minnesota Republicans, including Ellison’s opponent, Doug Wardlow, and Monahan’s attorney, Andrew Parker.
Wardlow has repeatedly called the investigation a “sham,” while Parker told Fox News that “any objective review” of the investigation would conclude that “it wasn’t legitimate at all.”
“They hired their own lawyer, not an outside, independent lawyer, their own lawyer. And a law firm that raised over half a million dollars for Democratic candidates, and over $50,000 for Keith Ellison himself,” Parker said on Tucker Carlson Tonight.
Nonetheless, Martin claimed in a Friday interview with Capitol Report that Minnesotans “need to address a lot of the very serious allegations out there,” while expressing his gratitude for the “impact” the #MeToo Movement has had on politics.
“I think, you know, for me this is really the year of the woman,” Martin said, boasting the DFL’s high number of female candidates running in the midterms.
“I think at the end of the day for us we know that when women run, women win. Democrats have supported women, in terms of the policies that we support—everything from pay equity to reproductive health issues to ending discrimination in the workplace,” he continued, claiming that the DFL is the right party for women.
“The DFL has always stood on the side of women, and that’s why you see such a sizable gender gap in politics,” Martin suggested. “So I think it’s really important for us to continue to deliver on those promises that we’ve made to women, to stand up and to continue to support them, particularly in this MeToo Movement, but beyond.”
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
