A local media outlet is suing to unseal court records pertaining to Rep. Keith Ellison’s (D-MN-05) divorce as the Democratic congressman struggles to bounce back from multiple domestic-abuse allegations.
“We at Alpha News believe that the voting public of Minnesota should know the contents of his sealed divorce proceeding in order to make the most informed choice possible. That is why we instructed our attorneys to file a motion this afternoon in Hennepin County District Court seeking their unsealing,” Alpha News announced in a Tuesday editorial.
The news outlet is seeking to uncover “information relevant specifically to domestic abuse or more generally to issues in the race for Minnesota attorney general.”
Such practices are not uncommon among the media, with The Star Tribune using its resources to unseal Prince’s divorce records, and a cohort of local outlets successfully securing the release of documents related to the death of Jacob Wetterling.
“Surely, then, local media platforms much larger than Alpha News would take the logical step of asking for Ellison’s divorce records to be unsealed? Except they have not and appear likely never to,” the editorial continues.
On Tuesday, Ellison’s second accuser released medical records showing that she discussed the alleged abuse with a doctor in 2017, while a 2005 police report corroborates the allegations made by his first accuser.
But the Ellison allegations have been largely overshadowed by an accusation leveled against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who allegedly sexually assaulted a girl when the two of them were in high school. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) is going so far as to call for an FBI investigation into the Kavanaugh allegation, but hasn’t once tweeted about the accusations against her Democratic colleague.
“For any nominee—whether it’s district court or any judge—if a report like Ms. Ford’s comes to light I expect it to be seriously investigated by the FBI before we vote,” Klobuchar recently tweeted. “We thank her for coming forward and need witness interviews and report back. Also still need remaining documents.”
For any nominee-whether it’s district court or any judge-if a report like Ms. Ford’s comes to light I expect it to be seriously investigated by the FBI before we vote. We thank her for coming forward and need witness interviews and report back. Also still need remaining documents
— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) September 16, 2018
Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) backed Klobuchar’s comments, saying on Twitter that “we must have a full and thorough investigation before anything else can happen with this nomination.”
These are very serious allegations. Both Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford have agreed to testify in front of the Judiciary Committee and that needs to happen. And we must have a full and thorough investigation before anything else can happen with this nomination.
— Senator Tina Smith (@SenTinaSmith) September 17, 2018
“These are very serious allegations. Both Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford have agreed to testify in front of the Judiciary Committee and that needs to happen,” she added.
Ellison is running against Republican Doug Wardlow in the race for attorney general and the latest poll shows that the two are tied.
– – –
Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Keith Ellison” by Lorie Shaull cc2.0
