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Say what? Really? I guess I missed the video of the attack against Ford by Kavanaugh.

Domestic abuse allegations against Keith Ellison cannot be substantiated, Dems' lawyer says

A lawyer hired by Minnesota Democrats says she is unable to substantiate the accusations of domestic abuse against Rep. Keith Ellison because the lawmaker’s ex-girlfriend refused to provide video of the incident.

The Associated Press on Monday reported that it obtained a draft of a report written by Susan Ellingstad, a lawyer hired by Minnesota's Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party to investigate the claim against Ellison.

The Democratic congressman, who serves as deputy chairman of the Democratic National Committee, has denied the allegations.

Ellison’s ex-girlfriend, 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.

The state's Democratic party launched an investigation into the claim, retaining a local attorney with links to the state party to determine whether the alleged incident took place. Democratic party chairman Ken Martin said last week he expected the investigation to conclude soon.

MINNESOTA SENATE CANDIDATE CALLS ON STATE TO INVESTIGATE ELLISON ALLEGATIONS

A draft report obtained by the AP noted Monahan's shifting rationale for refusing to produce the video footage, including that it was lost, was on a USB drive in storage and would be too embarrassing and traumatic to release it.

The Ellison accusations have put Democrats in an uncomfortable position, as they speak out on sexual misconduct claims against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Kavanaugh denies the accusations.

Monahan slammed the Democratic Party for its response to her allegations when compared to its treatment of Christine Blasey Ford. Ford has accused Kavanaugh of attempting to force himself onto her during a high school party nearly four decades ago. Many prominent Democrats have supported Ford’s allegations.

“No, they don't,” Monahan tweeted in response to a question of whether the party believes women’s stories. “I've been smeared, threatened, isolated from my own party. I provided medical records from 2017, stating on two different Dr. Visits, I told them about the abuse and who did it. My therapist released records stating I have been dealing and healing from the abuse.”

She added: “Four people, including my supervisor at the time, stated that I came to them after and shared the exact story I shared publicly, I shared multiple text between me and Keith, where I discuss the abuse with him and much more. As I said before, I knew I wouldn't be believed.”

Many other Democrats and progressives – who largely stayed silent after the accusations against Ellison emerged – came out in support of Ford, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Tom Perez, chairman of the DNC, who urged to investigate the claims and Kavanaugh.

Monahan went to reiterate that her story has nothing to do with politics. “I have nothing to prove to anyone, I simply shared my story. People can believe it or not. I don’t need anyone to affirm my humanity, I affirmed it,” she wrote in another tweet.

“The fact that both parties only care if it scores political points is hypocritical,” she added. “Do you think a person who has dealt with any form of abuse by politicians is thinking about politics? No, we & are families are trying to heal.”

Fox News’ Lukas Mikelionis and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Original Post

Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) admitted to hitting his then-wife so hard that it left her with a black eye.
A little-noticed episode from Carper’s past is now being re-litigated in light of recent news cycles dealing with domestic abuse committed by powerful men working at the highest levels of government in the nation’s capital. In a 1998 interview, Carper said:
Did I slap my wife 20 years ago? Yes. Do I regret it? Yes. Would I do it again? No. I slapped Diane one time. It was a stupid thing to do and I…regret it now. It caused some discoloration of her left eye and some puffiness. Allegations of domestic abuse have dogged Carper since his first run for Congress in 1982. Delaware Democrats didn’t much care for those accusations and Carper easily won his race–largely based on the perception that the story about Carper’s wife-beating was untrue. At the time, Carper referred to the allegations as “totally false” and “without basis in fact.”
Later recanting his innocence, in 1998 Carper finally admitted to slapping his now-deceased first wife during a “heated argument” in 1980. Carper eventually sought a promotion and served as the governor of Delaware for two terms before becoming a U.S. senator in 2001.

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