Keith Ellison Official
Amid allegations that he abused a former girlfriend, Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison is reportedly 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 who has been identified as Karen Monahan, reports CNN.
“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.”
The abuse allegations came about after Monahan’s son said in a Facebook video he’d seen video footage 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 tape could exist of the alleged altercation because it never happened.
“Monahan, who has repeatedly referenced the video in her allegations against Ellison, declined to share the video with CNN. 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.
Ellison has cooperated with investigations and has asked the House Ethics Committee to conduct a full investigation into the allegations. Ellison decided before the abuse allegations were made that he wouldn’t be seeking reelection for his seat in Congress, CNN reports.
