by Peter Hasson and Joe Simonson
The Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, the Minnesota arm of the Democratic Party, concluded its investigation into domestic abuse allegations against Rep. Keith Ellison two weeks ago, Karen Monahan told The Daily Caller News Foundation on Sunday.
Monahan, a Sierra Club activist and Ellison’s ex-girlfriend, accused the Minnesota Democrat of emotionally and physically abusing her during their relationship.
“I only know the [Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (MNDFL)] did an investigation that ended two weeks ago,” Monahan wrote in a private Twitter message to TheDCNF on Sunday.
If that claim is accurate, it raises questions about why the DFL has withheld the results of the investigation and why Ellison — the DFL nominee for attorney general — claimed Friday that the investigation was “ongoing.”
“There is an ongoing investigation, which we hope will conclude soon,” Ellison said during a debate Friday. Ellison said he did not know if the investigation would be over before the election.
DFL communication director Ellen Perrault did not return a phone call, voicemail and email seeking comment. The Democratic National Committee and Ellison’s campaign also did not return emails seeking comment.
“I will give further comment soon. I am trying to collect my thoughts,” Monahan told TheDCNF. She did not answer a follow-up question about what the DFL investigation concluded.
Monahan also posted Sunday on Facebook screenshots of her private conversations with Ellison, which depict his desire to get back together with her in 2017, after the two had broken up.
Monahan published a November 2017 medical document on Sept. 19 showing she told her doctor about alleged “emotional and physical abuse” and named Ellison as the alleged abuser.
Ellison did not challenge the document’s authenticity during Friday’s debate but claimed it came “as she was putting together the allegation she made two days before the primary.”
Ellison’s primary didn’t take place until nine months after Monahan told her doctor about the alleged abuse.
Ellison also could not guarantee Friday that more accusers won’t come forward, suggesting women may “cook up” allegations because of the “current political environment.”
The DNC, where Ellison is the deputy chair, originally said on Aug. 14 that it would be “reviewing” the allegations but DNC Chair Tom Perez later deferred to the DFL’s investigation.
Exactly one month ago, Perez described the DFL’s investigation as both “very thorough” and “very prompt” and predicted that it would “be completed in the near future.”
TheDCNF reached out to both the DFL and the DNC on Sept. 16 to ask about the status of the Ellison investigation. Both organizations remained silent then, too.
Ellison was the preferred choice of his party’s left-wing base to lead the DNC before losing to Perez in February 2017.
Perez’s first act as DNC chair was to name Ellison his number two, a decision Perez touted on Sept. 18 in an interview with The Washington Post.
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