Keith Ellison has resigned from the Democratic National Committee amid ongoing allegations of violent domestic assault against his former girlfriend and another woman.
Ellison was elected attorney general in Tuesday’s midterm election, despite the fact that his reputation suffered a severe blow due to the allegations of abuse.
In an attempt to downplay Ellison’s resignation, the DNC issued the following formal statement:
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“Keith’s decision means Minnesotans will have a full-time champion fighting for affordable health care, a fair economy, and opportunity for all,” DNC chair Tom Perez wrote in an email to Democrat supporters. “His tireless service as deputy chair enabled us to make substantial progress in rebuilding our party and rebuilding trust with our grassroots.”
NEW… Tom Perez just emailed this note, saying Keith Ellison has stepped down from DNC to focus on his new job as atty gen of Minnesota. pic.twitter.com/Rximb5eeQt
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) November 8, 2018
Washingtonexaminer.com reports: Ellison on Tuesday defeated Republican opponent Doug Wardlow to become Minnesota’s incoming top lawyer, and the first Muslim to win statewide office in U.S. history.
But Ellison’s campaign for attorney general was at risk of being derailed by allegations he abused his former longtime girlfriend Karen Monahan.
Ellison has vehemently denied Monahan’s claims, and a probe launched by Minnesota’s state Democratic Party, called the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, reported in October that it had not found any evidence to substantiate Monahan’s story.
Perez has been pressed on why Ellison was allowed to stay on at the DNC following Monahan’s accusations.
“I think Keith Ellison’s ex-girlfriend deserves to be heard, and deserves to be treated with dignity, and deserves to have a fair and full investigation, and that’s exactly what has been done,” Perez told CNN this month just before the 2018 midterm elections.
