With days to go in his primary campaign for Minnesota attorney general, DNC Deputy Chairman Rep. Keith Ellison’s former “long-term” girlfriend, Karen Monahan, accused the congressman of physical and emotional abuse.
The controversy started when Monahan’s son posted a long Facebook status on Saturday, saying, “My brother and I watched our mom come out of pure hell after getting out of her relationship with Keith Ellison.”
Here’s part of what he wrote:
Monahan, who works at the Sierra Club according to ThinkProgress, released a 3,000-word statement of her own, which is really more of a personal essay, ruminating on intersectionality and colonization before diving into the allegations. In addition to accusing the congressman of cheating on and emotionally manipulating her, she elaborated on the story her son shared about Ellison allegedly dragging her out of bed. “[H]e tried to drag me off the bed by my legs and feet, screaming ‘bitch you answer when I am talking to you. I said take out the trash, your a bad guest’ (even though we were living in the same place). He kept trying to drag me off the bed, telling me to get the fuck out of his house, over and over,” she wrote.
Monahan says she survived “narcissist abuse” and suffers from “complex PTSD” as a result of Ellison’s conduct. Before Monahan told her side of the story on Sunday, Ellison denied the allegations made by her son, including his claim that a video of the bed confrontation exists, in a two-sentence statement released through a spokesman. “Karen and I were in a long-term relationship which ended in 2016, and I still care deeply for her well-being. This video does not exist because I never behaved in this way, and any characterization otherwise is false,” said Ellison.
Monahan shared more than 100 text and Twitter messages with Minnesota Public Radio. Though MPR notes Monahan texted Ellison last December to say “We never discussed — the video I have of you trying to drag me off the bed,” to which he never responded, the outlet also said, “There is no evidence in the messages reviewed by MPR News of the alleged physical abuse.”
While Monahan was willing to share those messages, she has yet to share any video. “I didn’t want to mention the video or the texts. I’m not here to prove to anyone. I’m just here to share my story,” she told ThinkProgress on Monday. It’s completely understandable that Monahan wouldn’t want others to watch a graphic video of her abuse, though it does seem a little odd that she chose to release so many messages to the press, but won’t share a video that could remove any doubts. When CNN asked to view the video, Monahan said “she could not produce it.”
CNN further reported that “Three friends of Monahan, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of backlash, told CNN she had confided in them about the bed incident in the months after she had moved out of Ellison’s apartment.” And it’s also worth noting that, according to MPR and CNN, Ellison chose not to address the bed allegations in his private text messages with Monahan, which would seem to be the logical thing to do if they were entirely fabricated.
In a Monday statement, Ellison’s ex-wife said, “the behavior described does not match the character of the Keith I know.” ThinkProgress notes, however, that another former girlfriend of Ellison’s wrote in 2006 that he came into her home uninvited in 2005, and “grabbed” and “pushed” her until she called the police. According to her account, Ellison “belittled” her about her weight, and also orchestrated a “smear campaign” against her.
Feminist group UltraViolet has called on Ellison to drop out, but the allegations have mostly gone untouched by national Democrats and progressive groups. The DNC has now remained silent for days, as Minnesota voters are faced with an immediate predicament about the leading candidate in the state’s AG race.
As in the case of fired White House official Rob Porter, the allegations of emotional abuse against Ellison warrant serious concern alongside the allegations of physical abuse. With so much of her story focusing on the alleged bed incident, however, Monahan may ultimately need to share more about why she can’t produce the video as a matter of preserving her credibility. There may be a good reason for her refusal, but if people suspect the video doesn’t exist, the rest of her story may look less convincing.
Voters have little time to consider these allegations before going to the polls on Tuesday. If Ellison wins, questions about the allegation, and his character more generally, are sure to escalate.
[Related: Keith Ellison denies domestic violence allegations]
