As top Democrats speak out on sexual misconduct claims against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, they’ve been largely silent on physical and verbal harassment claims against one of their own: Rep. Keith Ellison, a top Democratic National Committee (DNC) official.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, revealed earlier this month she knew of the initial accusations that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted a woman in the early 1980s, when he and the accuser were teenagers. Feinstein, D-Calif., called for an immediate postponement of the Kavanaugh nomination process Sunday night after another woman publicly claimed he harassed her. Feinstein said the serious allegations deserve a “fair, independent” investigation from the FBI.
Kavanaugh has strongly denied both accusers’ claims.
Meanwhile, Ellison’s ex-girlfriend, Karen Monahan, on Sunday claimed there’s been a smear campaign against her to help her husband. Last week, she said many Democrats haven’t believed her claims. “I’ve been smeared, threatened, isolated from my own party.”
Asked for comment on the accusations against Ellison, Feinstein’s office did not respond.
Monahan has said Ellison sent her threatening text messages and once screamed obscenities at her as he dragged her off a bed by her feet. She tweeted Sunday: “I said this would happen early on. Keith is getting others to write commentary, sharing personal info, like being sexually abused, making false statements about who broke up, how it happened, etc. He will stop at nothing. #WhyIDidntReport victims get smeared, shamed,lied on.”
She continued in a tweet addressed to Ellison: “This isn’t right. This is not going away and you are making it worse for you, your family and district by lying, smearing, getting others to do your dirty work, victim shaming, etc. You know I have the video and more. I am still trying to offer grace and a way out.” She did not appear to clarify her tweets.
Ellison has pushed back on allegations of domestic abuse in their relationship, saying his accuser made up the story about him.
The Minnesota Democrat running for state attorney general also has dismissed a medical record that named him as the abuser, but said he could not be sure more people wouldn’t “cook up” allegations against him.
His representatives didn’t return Fox News’ request for comment.
In a Facebook post last month, Monahan’s son, Austin, wrote that he saw a video of Ellison “screaming and calling her a f—— b—-’ and telling her to get the f— out of his house.” His mother later said her son’s claims were “true.”
Last Wednesday, as Fox News reported, Monahan published a medical document in which a doctor wrote that Monahan “states that she was in a very stressful environment for years, emotional and physical abuse by a partner with whom she is now separated.”
“She identifies the individual she was involved with as Congressman Ellison, and she is worried about retribution if she identifies him publicly,” the document added.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT KEITH ELLISON ABUSE CLAIMS
Ellison, who serves as deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), decried Monahan’s story as “not true” and assured that an “ongoing investigation” will conclude that Monahan’s claims are false. Speaking at a televised debate last week, he dismissed the medical record, saying it was written a year after his relationship with Monahan ended.
When pressed whether the investigation would be done before the election, Ellison said it was an independent investigation and he wasn’t sure about the timetable.
Doug Wardlow, a Republican opponent, wasn’t satisfied with Ellison’s answer, saying Monahan’s claims would not be reviewed by an actual independent investigator. “It’s not an independent investigation!” he said. “It’s independent by your friends and fellow party members. That’s not an independent investigation.”
Fox News’ Chad Pergram and Lukas Mikelionis contributed to this report.
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