Political Wire

Ellison Said Ex-Wife Abused Him

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Rep. Keith Ellison’s (D-MN) “divorce records unsealed Wednesday contain no allegations the Minnesota congressman physically abused his ex-wife, but he said in a 2015 filing that Kim Ellison repeatedly hit him throughout their 25-year marriage,” the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

“The Ellisons tried to block release of the file, with Kim Ellison arguing that it would expose personal and painful details about her depression and health, but the Minnesota Court of Appeals rejected that bid on Tuesday.”

Ellison May Step Down as Deputy DNC Chairman

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Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) told WCCO that he’s considering stepping down from his role as deputy DNC chairman to focus on his bid to become the Minnesota’s attorney general.

Said Ellison: “I need to put 100 percent of my time, energy and resources into the race and into my office, and so it’s something I am taking consideration on. I’ll put it like this though, I’ll be 110 percent for Minnesota all the time every time without fail, so that’s something that we are beginning to evaluate right now.”

Ellison Abuse Claim Unsubstantiated

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An attorney hired by Minnesota Democrats finds an ex-girlfriend’s allegation that Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) once physically abused her could not be substantiated because she refused to provide video she said she had of the incident, the AP reports.

“Karen Monahan alleged in August that Ellison dragged her off a bed by her feet while screaming obscenities at her in 2016. Monahan said she had video footage of the incident and levied the allegation just days ahead of a crowded Democratic primary for Minnesota attorney general that Ellison went on to win.”

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Newspaper Seeks to Unseal Ellison’s Divorce Records

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The Minneapolis Star Tribune has joined a legal effort to unseal the divorce records of Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), the Democratic candidate for attorney general.

“The efforts follow allegations by Ellison’s ex-girlfriend, Karen Monahan, that Ellison domestically abused her in 2016. He has denied the allegation repeatedly, and Monahan has continued to press her case in frequent tweets about Keith Ellison.”

Ex-Girlfriend Details Alleged Abuse by Ellison

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Karen Monahan, who accuses her ex-partner Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) of physically abusing her, talked to CBS News about the alleged abuse on camera for the first time.

Monahan said that Ellison became angry during a September 2016 argument: “He looked at me, goes ‘Hey you fucking hear me’ … and then he looked at me, he goes ‘Bitch, get the fuck out of my house,’ and he started to try to drag me off the bed,”

Monahan  claims to have video of the incident but would not show it. Ellison insists it never happened.

Ellison Denies Abuse Allegations from Ex-Girlfriend

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Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) “denied an allegation from an ex-girlfriend that he had once dragged her off a bed while screaming obscenities at her — an allegation that came just days before a Tuesday primary in which the congressman is among several Democrats running for state attorney general,” the AP reports.

“The allegation first surfaced Saturday night from Karen Monahan after her son alleged in a Facebook post that he had seen hundreds of angry text messages from Ellison, some threatening his mother.”

Ellison Explores Run for Minnesota Attorney General

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Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), the progressive congressman and deputy chair of the DNC, is exploring a run for Minnesota attorney general, Politico reports.

“Lori Swanson, the current attorney general, is expected to run for governor, leaving the race open. With his active organizing and fundraising base — amplified through his close alliance with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) — Ellison would likely scramble a field of lesser known candidates that’s begun to take shape.”

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The DNC Starts a Shortlist for 2020

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This piece is only available to Political Wire members.

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), the newly-minted vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee, made headlines yesterday when he was asked whether he thought Barack Obama “was responsible for some of the failures of 2016.”

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What No One Is Talking About In the DNC Race

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First Read: “As DNC members travel to Atlanta to choose the party’s next chair on Saturday, there’s an elephant in the room that no one is talking about it — but that everyone is thinking about: Keith Ellison’s Muslim faith.”

“Don’t get us wrong, this isn’t an issue among the 447 DNC members. As we’ve written, many/most voting members would be happy with either Ellison or Tom Perez. But some outside the party seem to be goading Democrats to pick Ellison, as David Duke did earlier this month.”

Ellison Holds Edge In DNC Race

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“As Democrats head to Atlanta this weekend to vote on their party’s next chair, the race to lead the Democratic National Committee chair is coming down to its two leading candidates,” The Hill reports.

“Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) has the edge over former Labor secretary Tom Perez in The Hill’s new survey of DNC members. But while both men claim they are close to securing commitments from the majority of the 447 voting members, neither candidate is assured victory.”

President Trump on Twitter: “One thing I will say about Rep. Keith Ellison, in his fight to lead the DNC, is that he was the one who predicted early that I would win!”

Politico: Howard Dean endorses Pete Buttigieg for DNC chairman.

Ellison Agrees to Quit Congress If Elected DNC Chair

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Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) told the Minneapolis Star Tribune he will vacate his Congressional seat if he wins the chairman job at the Democratic National Committee.

“Ellison conceded Wednesday that a full-time chair is what the party wanted after the losses of the 2016 presidential and Congressional elections. He said he came to the decision after difficult soul-searching and hearing from the more than 400 voting members of the DNC who said they wouldn’t vote him as long as he was a sitting member of Congress.”

Keith Ellison Offers to Quit Congress to Lead DNC

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New York Times: “As the gathering began, Howard Dean, a former committee chairman who had been Mr. Ellison’s most prominent rival, announced that he was withdrawing his bid. But before making that announcement via video recording, Mr. Dean argued that the committee must be “rebuilt from the ground up” and that only a full-time chairman could accomplish that task.”

“More than two hours later, as the forum came to a close, Mr. Ellison offered an unexpected response. He revealed that he was considering resigning his seat in Congress, in answer to those on the committee who want the next chairman to focus exclusively on remaking a party shut out of power in Washington and many state capitals.”

Trouble for Keith Ellison’s DNC Bid

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First Read: “At 3:00 pm ET, four candidates to be the next chair of the Democratic National Committee (Ray Buckley, Howard Dean, Keith Ellison, and Jamie Harrison) will speak at a forum in Denver, CO. But there’s now trouble for the early frontrunner for this job — Ellison, the Democratic congressman from Minnesota. The Anti-Defamation League on Thursday issued a scathing statement that Ellison’s remarks reportedly criticizing Israel in a 2010 speech were ‘disturbing and disqualifying.'”

Here’s the audio of Ellison’s remarks in 2010: “The United States foreign policy in the Middle East is governed by what is good or bad through a country of 7 million people. A region of 350 million all turns on a country of 7 million. Does that make sense? Is that logic? Right? When the Americans who trace their roots back to those 350 million get involved, everything changes. Can I say that again?”

Extra Bonus Quote of the Day

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“These are things that don’t happen when parties are healthy and when movements are healthy. But the left is in the process right now of sort of spinning out of control and getting goofier and goofier.”

— Newt Gingrich, quoted by Politico, on Rep. Keith Ellison’s (D-MN) bid to chair the Democratic National Committee.

Schumer Backs Ellison for DNC Chairman

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Playbook: “Soon-to-be Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is backing Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison to be the next head of the Democratic National Committee, a big boost for the Minnesota Democrat as the party searches for a new leader. Schumer spoke with Ellison Thursday afternoon and ‘supports him for chair,’ according to a source close to Schumer, who added: ‘Without a Democratic White House, Schumer’s view is the DNC is where grassroots organizing in sync with leg battles should be organized.’

“Schumer’s nod comes as others like former DNC Chair Howard Dean have launched their own campaigns to run the embattled organization. Ellison, co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, hasn’t officially thrown his hat in the ring, though he has said he’ll make an announcement on Monday.”

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.

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