Amid allegations that he abused a former girlfriend, Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison is considering leaving his position as deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee.
Ellison has maintained his innocence, claiming the allegations made against him come from jealous former girlfriend, Karen Monahan. During a radio interview with Minneapolis radio station WCCO, Ellison said that his focus needs to be on running for Minnesota attorney general.
“You know, I’ve been evaluating that recently, so we’ll see,” he said, according to CNN. “I need to put 100 percent of my time, energy and resources into the race and my office, so it is something I am taking into consideration.”
Ellison has been the deputy chair since 2017. While Ellison didn’t cite the abuse allegations as his reason for considering stepping down, it’s hard to imagine the claims of abuse haven’t weighed into his decision-making.
The abuse allegations came to life after Monahan’s son took to Facebook to claim he’d seen a video of Ellison verbally abusing his mother during a fight. He also said the video showed Ellison dragging his mother from the bed. Monahan came out to support her son’s account of events.
Ellison claims that no video of the alleged altercation could exist because it never happened.
“Monahan, who has repeatedly referenced the video in her allegations against Ellison, declined to share the video with the AP. Monahan told CNN in August she put the video on a flash drive and packed it up in her previous home and couldn’t immediately find it because it was in storage,” CNN reports.
Days after the allegations surfaced, Ellison won the Democratic party’s primary to be the nominee for Minnesota attorney general.
Ellison has cooperated with investigators and has asked the House Ethics Committee to probe the allegations. Ellison decided before the abuse allegations were made that he wouldn’t be seeking reelection for his seat in Congress, CNN reports.
