Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN-05) and his ex-wife petitioned Minnesota’s Court of Appeals to block the release of their divorce records, but the motion was denied Tuesday afternoon.
On Friday, Hennepin County Family Court Referee Jason Hutchinson wrote in an order that the files would be unsealed for the public on Oct. 17 after both The Star Tribune and Alpha News pushed for their release.
The two outlets argued that “the voting public of Minnesota should know the contents of his sealed divorce proceedings in order to make the most informed choice possible.”
Ellison and ex-wife Kim Ellison argue in their petition that they were not given an opportunity to redact “confidential information,” namely “sensitive medical and financial information,” since Hutchinson is now on vacation.
“If the Court of Appeals does not issue an immediate stay or writ of prohibition, Mr. and Mrs. Ellison will be without a remedy to protect sensitive medical and financial information,” their petition states, according to The Star Tribune.
Ellison, currently running for Minnesota attorney general, filed the petition for a writ of prohibition on Monday while Kim Ellison spoke out against the release of their divorce records.
“I’m ashamed that a judge thinks it’s OK to exploit somebody’s mental illness,” she said Tuesday, referencing her struggles with depression during the time of the divorce. “And it’s unconscionable to me that Alpha News and The Star Tribune want to use it to influence the results of an election.”
The efforts to unseal the records come amid a tumultuous campaign for Ellison, who is currently facing multiple domestic-abuse allegations, though his ex-wife claims that the media will not find what they’re looking for.
“What Alpha News and The Star Tribune are looking for is not in there,” she said, according to 5 Eyewitness News. “There was never any abuse in our marriage and there’s nothing in our files to say that there was.”
Despite their efforts, the Minnesota Court of Appeals denied the “motion to stay the District Court Order” unsealing the records, according to attorney Nathan Hansen.
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Keith Ellison” by Center for American Progress CC2.0
