Democrats are split over recent allegations of domestic abuse recently pinned to Rep. Keith Ellison, the DNC’s deputy chair.
Former girlfriend Karen Monahan claims Ellison dragged her off a bed while yelling profanities, an event that precipitated their breakup. At the point where Ellison allegedly grabbed her and began pulling her off the bed, Monahan began filming the encounter on her phone.
The allegations surfaced when Monahan’s son posted on Facebook that he’d found the video on his mom’s computer.
Speaking to CBS news, Monahan claims Ellison said, “Hey you f***ing hear me? Bitch, get the f*** out of my house.” She’s also said she has no plans to release the video. She explained the video was somewhere on a flash drive with her personal belongings in storage and that even if she could put her hand on in it immediately, she wouldn’t share the video publicly because it’s “embarrassing.”
Of course, Ellison denies the allegations.
Ellison is leaving Congress and running for Attorney General in Minnesota. There, Democrat and progressive groups are split over whether it’s best to continue supporting Ellison or jumping ship in the event it takes on too much water.
Seth McLaughlin at The Washington Times has more:
A couple of liberal organizations have called on Mr. Ellison, who is stepping down from his House seat to run for attorney general, to pull the plug on his campaign. Others that were excited about his candidacy have gone quiet.“Keith Ellison is on the ropes,” said Larry Jacobs, director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota.Mr. Ellison’s ex-girlfriend Karen Monahan and her son accuse him of physical and verbal abuse — and claim it was caught on tape.“There is real anxiety in the Democratic Party — particularly at the leadership level — that he is going to become the face of the ticket in the fall,” Mr. Jacobs said. “I think the concern is that not everything has come out, and more will come out, including the video and possibly complaints from other women.”
The Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) endorsed Ellison amid the allegations. But committee members are aware supporting Ellison is a risky move, saying, “If he breaks our faith right now, it’s going to devastate the party.”
From the Minnesota Post:
One of the members of the DFL’s central committee who voted to endorse Keith Ellison for attorney general Saturday said his decision was both personal and political.Joel Heller, an Iraq war veteran from Duluth, said descriptions of domestic violence like those given by Ellison’s former girlfriend Karen Monahan remind him of abuse he suffered as a child. “The triggers hit,” Heller said.Heller said he cried when Ellison addressed the DFL’s executive committee Saturday, and said that he asked Ellison three different times during the course of the morning whether he was telling the truth in denying allegations brought forth by a former Ellison girlfriend, Karen Monahan. “When someone comes up to you and they look you straight in the face, when they say, ‘Hey, I didn’t do it,’ you’ve got to take a person’s word,” Heller said.But Heller said he knows the consequences if it turns out that he and the party put trust in Ellison that he didn’t deserve. “If he doesn’t tell the truth, not only is he going to be branded a liar now, he’s going to branded a liar for years and years to come,” Heller said. “We put faith in this person and that’s all we’ve got is faith. If he breaks our faith right now, it’s going to devastate the party. The Republicans are going to cream us in November if that happens.”
Ellison might have party support now, but whatever support remains is trepidatious as best, which should be concerning for both Ellison and those in his camp.
It wasn’t so long ago than another high ranking Minnesota Democrat was left out to dry by his party — former Senator Al Franken.
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