ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - The Latest on the report from an attorney hired by Democrats on the allegations against Rep. Keith Ellison (all times local):
6 p.m.
A former girlfriend who accused Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison of domestic abuse says a new report that calls her claim “unsubstantiated” is why she didn’t go public earlier.
Karen Monahan says in a series of Twitter messages that she didn’t expect to be “heard, believed or validated” when she accused Ellison.
Monahan accused Ellison in August of trying to drag her off a bed in 2016 while screaming obscenities. Ellison denied any abuse.
An attorney hired by the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party to investigate the allegation wrote in a draft report that Monahan’s allegation couldn’t be substantiated because she refused to produce a video she claimed to have.
Monahan says she shared plenty of evidence, including therapy notes and text messages between her and Ellison.
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4:05 p.m.
Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison says he’s focusing on the issues in the Minnesota attorney general’s race after an attorney said she couldn’t substantiate physical abuse allegations from Ellison’s ex-girlfriend.
Karen Monahan accused Ellison in August of dragging her off a bed by her feet in 2016 while screaming obscenities. She claims to have video footage of the incident. The Democratic congressman denies the incident occurred.
Minnesota’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor party hired an attorney from the same firm its top lawyer works at to investigate. Susan Ellingstad’s report obtained by The Associated Press Monday concluded the allegation was unsubstantiated because Monahan won’t provide video footage.
Ellison says it’s important that allegations of misconduct be investigated.
But others say the issue is far from settled. His Republican opponent, Doug Wardlow, called the investigation a “sham.”
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1:05 p.m.
A lawyer investigating a woman’s claim that she was physically abused by Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison has concluded the allegation is unsubstantiated.
The Associated Press on Monday obtained a draft of the report by Susan Ellingstad, an attorney hired by Minnesota’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party to investigate the allegation.
Ellison’s ex-girlfriend, Karen Monahan, accused Ellison in August of dragging her off a bed by her feet in 2016 while screaming obscenities. She claims to have video footage of the incident. The Democratic congressman denies the incident occurred.
Ellingstad writes in her report that Monahan’s refusal to provide the video she says she has leads her “to conclude that the allegation is unsubstantiated.”
Ellingstad’s report also notes Monahan gave shifting explanations for why she won’t release the video.
Ellison is leaving Congress to run for Minnesota attorney general.
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