During Friday night’s attorney general debate, Keith Ellison suggested that his accuser fabricated the allegations against him and couldn’t provide an answer on whether the investigation will be wrapped up before the election.
Ellison is currently facing two domestic-abuse allegations, one of which surfaced in August when his ex-girlfriend accused the congressman of forcibly dragging her from a bed. PBS Almanac’s moderators pressed Ellison on the charges, noting that 40 percent of Minnesotans are considering the allegations in their votes.
“That was a case in 2005, when she was harassing me and my staff. I got an order for protection to have her not do that anymore. The judge awarded that,” Ellison said of his first accuser, Amy Alexander.
“They’re not true. I’ve said that they’re not true. I’ve answered questions. I’ve gone on Esme Murphy and others to make these points clear,” he continued in response to the new allegations from Karen Monahan.
The moderators then asked Ellison to clarify if the “ongoing investigation” into the allegations will be “done before the election,” to which Ellison responded that he doesn’t know.
“I don’t know. It’s an independent investigation,” he answered, prompting Republican opponent Doug Wardlow to point out that “it’s not an independent investigation,” since it’s being conducted by his “friends and fellow party members.”
He was also questioned on declining an invitation to meet with Monahan and the investigators, saying he left that relationship “for a reason” and so “to get back in touch with her again is not something [he is] interested in doing.”
The segment concluded with a discussion of the medical record Monahan recently released, which shows that she discussed the alleged abuse with a doctor in 2017.
“Let me tell you, that record was made a year after we broke up, and at a time when she was still—when she was essentially putting together the allegations she made two days before” the primary, Ellison responded.
Recent polls show Ellison leading Wardlow 41 percent to 36 percent, with only five percent of Democrats polled saying they believe Ellison’s accuser.
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
