Karen Monahan threatens to release more info about Keith Ellison,

[pnwmom]

who is running in a primary election on Tuesday for Minnesota Attorney General.

Link to tweet

?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1028729592767336448&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fpolitics%2F2018%2F08%2F12%2Fdnc-co-chair-minnesota-rep-keith-ellison-denies-abuse-allegations-from-ex-girlfriend.html

Karen Monahan
@KarenMonahan01
What my son said is true. Every statement he made was true.@keithellison, you know you did that to me. I have given every opportunity to get help and heal. Even now, u r willing to say my son is lying and have me continue to leak more text and info just so others will believe him

HERE IS A LINK TO THE SON'S PUBLIC FACEBOOK POST (there's more at the link):

https://www.facebook.com/Aslimsed/posts/2319161644777680

My name is Austin Monahan and I am writing this letter on behalf of me and my brother.

My brother and I watched our mom come out of pure hell after getting out of her relationship with Keith Ellison. For several months we knew something wasn’t right and couldn’t figure it out. When we asked our mom if everything was ok, she told us she was dealing with some stress and would be ok.

In the middle of 2017, I was using my moms computer trying to download something and I clicked on a file, I found over 100 text and twitters messages and video almost 2 min long that showed Keith Ellison dragging my mama off the bed by her feet, screaming and calling her a “fucking bitch” and telling her to get the fuck out of his house. The messages I found, were mixed with him consistently telling my mom he wanted her back, he missed her, he knew he fucked up and we wished he could do things different, he would victim shaming, bully her, and threaten her if she went public. I text him and told him I know what you did to my mama and a few other things.

I met up with my mom that night and asked her what happened. She said nothing happened until I told her I saw a video and hell of a lot of messages saying something different. She finally talked. My brother and I were so angry and hurt for our mom. We were ready to go public but our mom begged us not to and she along with others convinced us it wasn’t in our moms best interest. . . .

Sitting all this time, watching what our mom went through and not being able to say or do anything was hard as hell. None of you know the hell our family has gone through. I don’t think half of you would even care. We watched her so called political friends stand by say or do nothing. People had an idea what happened and never reached out to my mom. The same people who are posting about social justice are ready to smear my mom, protect a person who abused her and broke the law. You think we give a shit about a politics when we saw what our mom went through? She may not matter to none of you, but she is our mom, our kids grandmother and she is actually someone. There is a lot more he has done to my mom and others that we saw in the text but our mom can decide if and when she wants to tell the world that part.

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2018/08/12/abuse-allegation-made-against-keith-ellison-denies-attorney-general-election

Keith Ellison, one of the leading candidates to be Minnesota's next attorney general, confronted allegations Sunday of domestic abuse of a former girlfriend that surfaced days before the election that will decide the party's nominee.

The allegation that the physical abuse was caught on video was posted to Facebook late Saturday night by the woman's son, four days before Minnesota's primary election, where Ellison is facing off against four other Democrats for the open attorney general's seat.

Ellison is a six-term 5th District congressman and the perceived front-runner in the race. In a written statement Sunday, Ellison denied the incident.

SNIP

State Rep. Debra Hilstrom, who also is running for the Democratic nomination for attorney general, recirculated the Facebook post and called on Ellison to answer the allegation. She tweeted the Saturday account from Austin Monahan, the son of Karen Monahan, Keith Ellison's former longtime girlfriend. By Sunday afternoon the post had been shared more than 2,000 times.

[Matthew28]

1. Sick of the right doing this

Put up real evidence or shut up

[pnwmom]

3. Why are you blaming this on the right? Wouldn't it make more sense, if the right

was somehow behind this, to wait till Ellison was the actual nominee?

And I haven't seen any evidence that Karen Monahan, Ellison's former partner, is part of the right.

[qazplm135]

70. doubt it's the right per se

it's one of the two things:

a. an honest accusation by a former lover
b. a dishonest accusation by a former lover

[brush]

101. What am I missing. Isn't the primary over with Ellison winning?

[mcar]

2. Release your evidence

This is not a game.

[ananda]

4. Actually, to the Reeps, it is a game.

It's designed to destroy good, strong Dems.

[mcar]

6. Yes

but we don't have to let it happen.

If this woman has proof, show it.

[JI7]

10. agree

[GatoGordo]

13. Does a woman have a right to be believed or not?

Do we believe her ONLY if she accuses a right winger?

[David__77]

21. No.

I do not think there is such a right.

[JI7]

24. they have a right to be heard and accusation taken seriously

[LisaL]

27. I don't think that's in the constitution.

[mcar]

60. Of course

But she is claiming she has evidence. Therefore, it is incumbent upon her to show it.

[pnwmom]

72. Not unless he files a lawsuit claiming defamation. She has the right to free speech,

and that includes accusing an ex-lover of being abusive.

[mcar]

76. Yes, that is true

I do wonder about the timing, though.

[pnwmom]

79. Yeah, it would have been better a year ago. But they didn't break up till a couple years ago.

It can take a while to process a relationship like that, if what she is saying is true.

OTOH, it would have been worse if she waited till after he was the nominee.

[at140]

90. Love...

is hard to find and harder to forget!

[pnwmom]

91. Welcome to DU, at140! nt

[at140]

94. wow thank you

and you are a prolific poster here! Good job.
I will have to live to age 110 to catch up with you LOL

[pnwmom]

96. I started during the George Bush era. It did feel like the underground then.

That was the first time in living memory that we had a President who hadn't been elected by the popular vote.

[brush]

128. Wait a minute. He won the primary. He is the nominee. Has every one forgotten?

When you think about it, He's black and a Muslim, a double target for trump and the repugs.

If she has evidence, show it.

Otherwise people wonder about motives and incentives.

[qazplm135]

67. no she has a right to be taken seriously

and her claims seriously investigated.

No more, no less.

Believed means there's nothing a man can say to an accusation except I did it. no defense allowed, no claims of innocence, just "believe" the woman and that's it.

Bullshit. You take the woman seriously. You seriously investigate her claims.

[Loki Liesmith]

80. No

No one has a right to be believed.

[LakeArenal]

5. Sixth term and it's just coming out now.

Sounds like another Railroad hitting him.

Someone really hates Minnesota and it’s elected officials.

[pnwmom]

8. The relationship ended two years ago, so it wouldn't have come out

in one of his previous terms.

[oasis]

7. Sounds like b.s. Why wouldn't she release the whole thing NOW?

[pnwmom]

11. I think it would be humiliating to have a video released of yourself being dragged off a bed.

Don't you?

And think about it. She was being dragged off her bed. What do women normally wear in bed? Would she want that view to be online forever?

[LisaL]

26. But the accusation was made that such a video exists.

As far as I am concern, if you are accusing someone claiming to have proof, release the proof.

[spooky3]

33. The son made the accusation, not the mother.

The mother may consider the video's public release to be a violation of her privacy.

[LisaL]

36. Mother says the accusation is true, so doesn't matter who made it first.

[pnwmom]

38. If there was a video of a woman being raped, would she have to publicly release the video

in order to make the accusation?

If there was a video of a naked woman being dragged out of bed, would she have to publicly release the video in order to claim abuse?

Where do you draw the line?

[LisaL]

42. Not publicly, but presumably such a video would have to be given to police if this woman wanted to

press charges. Pretty sure at trial it would have to be shown to the jury if it was admitted into evidence.

[pnwmom]

46. So a woman is required to press charges if she is abused? Either that or she has to shut up forever?

If it's not true, Ellison can sue her for defamation. That's his recourse.

[LisaL]

50. Nobody is required to press charges.

But if you make an accusation and claim there is a video, don't be surprised if people expect to see this video.

[pnwmom]

54. Remember, it was her son that described seeing the video -- and said it wasn't his.

Should she be required to release the video because her son went public?

[LisaL]

57. Nobody says she is required to release it.

But the accusation is made against a public figure, with a claim that there is a video to support this accusation-it's not surprising people expect to see this video.

[Cha]

32. I'm curious how

such a Vid could be made.

It's like they were filming what went on in their bedroom? And, caught that on film?

[LisaL]

35. My guess would be a hidden camera in an object, that's how.

[Cha]

40. That makes more sense.. By Karen expecting she might

need it? I dunno know.. if she does have it.. that would be explosive.

[mythology]

89. But from what I see, it was said to be recorded in his house

Seems somewhat less likely to be set up in his house.

But either she has it, or she doesn't.

[ProudLib72]

98. This is a good point, Cha

And the son just happened to be using his mom's computer and stumble across the texts and vids? Anything is possible I guess. It's just so strange.

[brush]

129. What's not strange is the timing. There's no better time to damage a Democrat...

running and possibly beating a repug.

She has to show the evidence or people began to wonder if she and the son have been...OK, I'll say it...PAID.

She has to show the evidence and have it corroborated.

[alphafemale]

104. He did not want her on/in his bed.

If a man tried to force such physical contact as crawling on your bed you would just have to allow it?

[OnDoutside]

9. Since Ellison is denying this, produce the video or withdraw the accusation.

[pnwmom]

12. No. She should be able to make her accusation without having to produce

for the public a humiliating video of her being dragged off a bed by her feet.

[marylandblue]

14. Then she shouldn't even mention the video

Once you say there's video, people want to see it. Otherwise it makes her look like a liar even if the underlying accusation is true.

[pnwmom]

16. She didn't mention the video -- her son did. I just added his Facebook post to the OP.

And he doesn't own the video, so he can't go public with it.

For the sake of argument, if there was a video of you or a woman you loved being dragged out of bed by the feet, would you want that video to be made public, even if it humiliated the woman even further?

[marylandblue]

18. If it were my mother, I would not speak of the incident at all

I would let her speak for herself, or if she wants me to speak for her, I'd only say what she wants me to say.

[pnwmom]

23. If this is true, he's a 25 year old who was horrified by what happened to his mother.

After listening to other people say he should stay quiet, he finally broke down and went public.

From his Facebook post:

https://www.facebook.com/Aslimsed/posts/2319161644777680

Sitting all this time, watching what our mom went through and not being able to say or do anything was hard as hell. None of you know the hell our family has gone through. I don’t think half of you would even care. We watched her so called political friends stand by say or do nothing. People had an idea what happened and never reached out to my mom. The same people who are posting about social justice are ready to smear my mom, protect a person who abused her and broke the law. You think we give a shit about a politics when we saw what our mom went through? She may not matter to none of you, but she is our mom, our kids grandmother and she is actually someone. There is a lot more he has done to my mom and others that we saw in the text but our mom can decide if and when she wants to tell the world that part.

[marylandblue]

30. Yes but it is not his story to tell, it is hers nt

[pnwmom]

41. The part that is HIS to tell is how he was using her computer

and came upon the horrifying video and texts. HE experienced that.

Assuming he's not lying, think about how much that would have upset him.

[marylandblue]

65. No doubt he was upset, but it's still not his information

It was on her computer and he happened to come across it. I wouldn't reveal it unless she wanted me to. Just telling the story to the while world could be upsetting to her. Why would he talk about it at all without her permission?

[pnwmom]

75. He had probably been reading her tweets over the last weeks and months.

Even though she didn't name Ellison while she was talking about being abused by a narcissist, the son would have known who she was talking about.

[marylandblue]

78. Well fine, but if she didn't reveal his name, he shouldn't have

[pnwmom]

82. But why is that an important issue? He's 25, a young adult, and he made a mistake.

But his mistake, if his story is true, was being unable to resist fighting for his mother.

I can think of plenty of worse mistakes to make.

[marylandblue]

84. Well maybe it is a mistake and he'll just have to live with the consequences

Which include other people not believing him. Maybe his mother will now settle this and release the video or show it to a 3rd party. Now as a parent, I might do that for his sake, even if I didn't really want to.

[tonedevil]

115. If his story is not true...

I can think of few worse "mistakes" to make at 25 or any age.

[Blue_true]

22. She has text messages and tweets. Those should say a lot. nt

[marylandblue]

25. I think I saw one, she ranted at him and then they agreed to meet

Does he admit to anything? Or is it just the record of a bitter breakup?

[LisaL]

28. He claims the video doesn't exist because he never behaved in such a way.

[OnDoutside]

15. In light of the Franken knifing, I wholeheartedly disagree. Monahan made her accusation, Ellison

firmly denied there is such a video. They have to produce that video now, (or at least send a copy to Ellison to show they have it and would release it). If there is a video of it, then screw him, otherwise he is entitled to his rights too. And if he is innocent, but has to withdraw, then who's next ?

To make an accusation 4 days before an election, where Monahan is supporting his rival, Debra Hilstrom, has a whiff of sabotage about it.

[spooky3]

20. Do you agree that it is possible that the son is telling the truth? He is the one who chose to

post this info on Facebook very recently, not his mother.

It is possible that this is like the Franken situation, but it is also possible that it is NOT. Franken was IMHO accused on the basis of very flimsy and less-than-credible evidence of groping incidents, the first of which concerned a STAGED photo in bad taste, with a "victim" who had ties to Fox. This accusation involves much more serious behavior than any of the incidents in which Franken was alleged to be involved and it allegedly occurred in private, unlike all the alleged gropings by Franken, which "victims" claimed occurred in front of dozens or hundreds of people, yet could not be documented. AFAIK Monahan and her son have no ties to Republicans; Hilstrom is a Dem and claimed to have tweeted about it only because she was alerted to it by being included in the tag. I thought Hilstrom's request was reasonable and appropriate in light of #MeToo. So I see a lot of obvious differences already.

I'm willing to wait and see.

[OnDoutside]

34. I do agree it is possible, but Ellison says there is no video, so one of them is lying, and that

being the case, let's see the video. If there is a video, Ellison is toast, it's pretty simple. If there isn't then it is entirely wrong to try and take him down because of a bad split. I just don't want to see a Franken re-occurrence. If I were Hillstrom, I would get as far away from it as possible, as this could rebound badly if untrue.

[spooky3]

39. I totally agree that another Franken recurrence would be awful. It looks to me as if

Hilstrom has made her statement, and is now staying out of it.

There also allegedly are texts, so those could be examined.

[pnwmom]

44. So women and their children don't get to make accusations now unless they can produce a video? n/t

[LisaL]

55. Again, if you claim there is a video, people would expect to see the video.

[pnwmom]

77. The son made the claim, and the video doesn't belong to him. And the video supposedly

depicts the woman being dragged out of bed by the feet.

I don't blame her for not wanting that all over the internet.

[OnDoutside]

97. When they said they actually had a video ? No, of course they can

make the accusation, but when the alleged perp says there is no such video, it is incumbent on them to either release the video, or arranging for Ellison to view a copy of the video. The injustice of what was done to Al Franken, following the weaponizing of the metoo movement, means that a line must be drawn.

If the Monahans have a video of what allegedly sounds like assault, go to the police. Putting it out on social media 4 days before the election, following an acrimonious break up, when you are supporting his campaign rival, is suspicious enough.

[maxrandb]

131. No

But women and children...hell ANYBODY has a right to make an accusation, but that "accusation" does NOT have the right to immediately ruin the accused's life.

You want an accusation to immediately ruin your life?

You can be a believer in the fact that victims of domestic violence, sexual harrassment and sexual assault should have their accusations taken seriously and investigated, but NONE of us should support what is the equivalent of the Salem Witch Hunts.

Why is it that some want to treat the accusation as if the Red Queen we're conducting the trial if that accusation comes from a women???

That's not what the me too movement is about.

We're making it pretty fucking simple for Donnie Shit for Brains, the Retrumplicans and the Russians to take out Democrats if that's going to be the standard.

[pnwmom]

74. She doesn't have to produce the video just because her son posted publicly about seeing it.

If Ellison IS innocent, then he won't withdraw because he'll KNOW there isn't such a video.

[jberryhill]

61. Videos can be redacted

As well as single frames thereof. Stop with the false dichotomy. A full unredacted video is not necessary.

[qazplm135]

69. she can make whatever accusation she wants

but if she wants folks to believe it, and says there's a video, and then never shows it, well, I for one am not going to give credence to her claims.

At the most, it's a data point in case future claims come up, but it's not going to be enough, in and of itself, to say, Ellison did it.

One accusation, by itself, with nothing else, is not and should not be enough to declare someone guilty of something.
Evidence through investigation does that.

[spooky3]

17. It's disturbing to me, especially given #MeToo, that some people are not waiting to

form judgments about this. We should not be dismissing the allegations or speculation about right wing involvement simply because the accused is a Dem. and/or because the accuser is female. It should be investigated.

[kcr]

88. I think you've got it backwards.

You are correct in that it should be investigated. See, that's not what some want. They are clamoring for an instant judgment of guilt and demands for instant resignation because of ratfuckery. Of course, the GOP have a different standard seeing as they're the ones that have orchestrated this double standard. It's not dismissing allegations because they're Dems. It's defending them from ratfucking GOP/useful idiot stupidity of some on the left.

[cachukis]

19. Who made the video?

[BlueTsunami2018]

29. How would there be a video of this?

Who recorded it? If he’s dragging her out of the bed, neither one of them would be recording so there had to be a third party there.

This seems odd.

[LisaL]

31. Doesn't have to be a third party.

Video camera could be hidden in an object.

[OnDoutside]

37. Good point....I was thinking more kinky !

[spooky3]

43. Yes, some people have security cameras inside their homes - to watch child care providers,

pet behavior while owners are not home, etc.

[LisaL]

45. Well, this one must have been pointing at her bed.

From the description of it. I don't think it was a regular security camera to watch pets.

[spooky3]

47. when people install these, they often install them throughout the home.

Another reason is if they have experienced break-ins--and burglars will look in bedrooms for valuables.

I just saw a video from one of these posted online in my county--the police were asking for the public's help in identifying the suspect.

[LisaL]

52. Pointing at ones bed?

[spooky3]

56. Come on, you are really stretching. I've already explained to you why it is possible

that this could have occurred. I think you need to wait and see what the investigation shows rather than try to dismiss things that clearly are possible.

[LisaL]

58. Where did I say it wasn't possible?

I just don't think it was a regular security camera, if such a video exists.

[pnwmom]

48. Don't some computers have the capability for this? I remember a controversy

some years ago when a teenager videoed her father attacking her, and she did it with her computer.

[LisaL]

51. Yes, of course, modern ones have cameras build in.

[BlueTsunami2018]

49. Yeah, that could be.

Though that would also be a little weird. I guess we’ll see.

[hardluck]

100. There are more simple explanations

Like she’s laying in bed watching Netflix or something on her phone when he comes in and they get in an argument. She then switches apps and gets a video. Seems more plausible then a secret camera. If there is a video it’s probably disjointed and had to understand. The audio is probably more relevant but I bed it’s muffled too. In the end, if it exists and it is released it will probably be ambiguous enough that the same people here will hold the same positions.

[dlk]

53. Powerful Men Abuse Women, Period

Party affiliation is irrelevant. It’s entitlement among other things.

[KPN]

59. Seems suspicious timing wise.

[at140]

92. Standard Procedure...

Count how many times old accusations surface only after someone is running for high office or gets elected to high office.

[DeminPennswoods]

62. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned

which seems to be the case here.

[Claritie Pixie]

63. Hi!!! My first post below...

If such a horrific video exists, why isn’t it in the hands of law enforcement? It would be proof of assault.

Austin’s facebook post and Karen’s threatening follow-up tweet to “leak more text and info” (curious phrasing) are high drama for sure and bound to get a lot of attention. They may very well be false. We know how the enemy operates.

If there’s truly evidence of assault, take it to the cops and hold him accountable. Otherwise, I can’t give credence to the accusation.

[oldtime dfl_er]

64. Been thinking about this for awhile

My first thought is of course this is politically motivated.

My second thought is, if there is a video, perhaps it should be given to someone neutral - similar to a special master - for viewing AND FOR VERIFICATION OF AUTHENTICITY. If it was someone truly neutral, someone that people could trust, then it wouldn't have to be publicly released.

Dirty tricks will become more and more common in the coming weeks. And they'll get as dirty as it's possible to be. The GOP will stop at NOTHING to keep control. We have got to be vigilant and we've got to be transparent and we've got to have proof in some form.

[LisaL]

66. I agree. If the concern is she could be humiliated by release of the video,

show the video to some trusted third party without releasing it to the public. Otherwise how does one defend him or herself?

[marylandblue]

68. It's pretty simple actual

Show it to 2 reporters for 2 separate news outlets. My understanding is that she is a political activist. Surely she knows some trustworthy reporters.

[Claritie Pixie]

71. Its simpler than that. Get an attorney. Go to the cops.

That would be the most effective way to hold Ellison accountable if video proof of assault exists.

Since Monahan has not done that, doesn’t seem legitimate.

[marylandblue]

73. Attorney would be biased.

She can and should go to the cops, but they won't what's on the video unless he's indicted. The main reason women don't go to cops is because they are afraid of retaliation or publicity. Well, that's not an issue now.

[Lee-Lee]

103. Most domestic violence victims don't press charges

And that’s when the abuser is a nonbody and notbsomeone with significant political influence and ability to hire a serious legal team.

Saying a claim of domestic abuse isn’t legitimate because the victim doesn’t press charges shows a profound ignorance of the realities of domestic violence and how victims deal with the trauma.

[tonedevil]

117. So are we to consider...

Representative Ellison guilty based on unsubstantiated accusations?

[Lee-Lee]

120. No, but we also shouldn't consider her claims to not be legitimate

based on what we know either.

[tonedevil]

124. At this point we have...

Schrodinger's accusation and the accuser won't allow the box to be opened. How long does the accused have to live with an accusation they can not disprove?

[Lee-Lee]

125. Good question

Most DV cases never hit the courts and things just go off peoples radar.

That’s how it goes, sadly, for most of these cases.

Accusations are made, people take sides, nothing is ever really resolved.

But that’s no reason to automatically accuse anyone who claims to be a victim of being dishonest about it.

[snowybirdie]

81. Timing

of this is very suspicious.

[pnwmom]

83. It would be worse if it was after he was the nominee. n/t

[Jake Stern]

85. A Couple Things

1. Timing really has my skeptic mind going all atwitter. Convenient that son decided to blow this open literally days before the election.

2. I notice a few names that seem to have already rendered judgement on Ellison were the same ones which demanded that Al Franken be afforded "due process" and for folks to "withhold judgment". Why isn't Keith Ellison entitled to the same?

[pnwmom]

87. This is before the primary election. It would have been much worse before the General.

And with the primary election about to happen, people will just have to make up their minds without due process, unfortunately.

[kcr]

122. Maybe. But I see a lot of people saying it seems like an Al Franken hit job.

I thought Al Franken was railroaded and it seems like the same attempt is being made on Ellison.

[MFM008]

93. Why are so many

Willing to throw "fellow" democrats under the train with no real proof yet.

[pnwmom]

95. There's another Democrat running for the same office, who might be a better opponent

to the Republican in the general, assuming she doesn't have worse baggage.

[ck4829]

99. Monohan pivots and now says she WON'T release "video"

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2018/08/13/monahan-says-will-not-release-video-keith-ellison-incident

[OnDoutside]

102. Maybe she should get on to Mark Burnett ? He's a great man for tapes....

[Lee-Lee]

105. A lot of you throwing the "BS" flag obviously don't have any experience with domestic violence

Things like questioning why a victim wouldn’t want a video all over the media to relive the event over and over, questioning why they are reluctant to come foward, questioning why they don’t press charges.

Welcome to the world of domestic violence. Where it’s extremely hard for most victims to even get up the wherewithal to get out of the relationship, much less actually go public with what happened or press charges.

75% of physical assaults by a spouse or significant other go unreported in the USA. So when someone says it happened and you question the legitimacy because there want a criminal charge or police report you are statistically on the wrong side of what’s more likely.

And all that difficulty for a victim in reporting- that’s hard enough when it’s Joe Slob that nobody knows who is the abuser. Now make the abuser a well known and powerful person in your community and coming foward just got a ton harder.

All you people calling “BS” or claiming she’s a liar, just because you don’t like the circumstances, shame on you. It’s one thing to say you withhold judgement and want more evidence. But to outright call her a liar just because you don’t like the implications just feeds into the entire stigma we have around domestic violence in this county where people dismiss claims from victims because the acuused was a “nice guy” or “does great things in the community” or “employs a lot of people and we don’t want to hurt all them”.

We should take every person who comes foward with claims of being abused just as seriously. No matter if all the parties involved are poor regular citizens, rich and powerful, politicians we like or politicians we hate.

Is what’s been put forth now enough for me to say it happened or didn’t? No. And anyone claiming to be sure it’s fact or fiction now is making judgements not on evidence but based on what they hope to be true.

But there are bigger issues at play here than just this one race and one politician. The actions of so many here in calling her a liar are disgusting in that they just serve to reinforce the stigma against DV victims speaking up and serve to perpetuate the old standard that a victim who speaks up better do so in a way that brings incontrovertible evidence that’s exactky what people want or else they are not to be beloved by default. And that just serves to reinforce the lesson you are telling every other person suffering as a victim of domestic violence right now- that you shouldn’t bother speaking up because you will just be called a liar and attacked as a person if you do.

Because of how so many on the left are reacting to this many more victims of domestic violence who see it will suffer in silence so much longer because of the message they are given by the reactions, including of many people on here. And that’s shameful.

You don’t have to accept her claims as gospel truth at this point. And you shouldn’t. But you should treat her claims as worthy of considering as potentially valid and ask for further investigation instead of just calling her a liar because you don’t like how she’s handled it or she hasn’t produced evidence of potentially very traumatic experiences in her life for the whole world to splash on TV 24/7 and live on the internet as the first search results under her name the rest of her life.

[JonLP24]

106. Excellent post

[MineralMan]

107. Just release that video, then, Ms. Monahan. You say it exists, so let's see it.

Or don't, and it's just "he said, she said." I know Keith Ellison. I don't know you.

[Lee-Lee]

108. Textbook example of how DV victims are shamed

“He’s a good man, I’ve known him for years. No way he would do that.”

“He does so much good for the community, I just can’t believe anyone would say he did something like that. She must be lying”

“Yeah, she’s just out for attention or money. He’s such a good person no way this is true.”

Thanks for helping perpetuate that stigma against victims speaking out.

[MineralMan]

109. I'm doing nothing of the sort. If there is video evidence of this,

it should be exposed.

Failing that, it remains a "he said, she said," thing.

It's too important an issue to not be resolved. If that video exists, it will be resolved. If it shows what it is said to show, then I will withdraw my support from the candidate. But, I need to see for myself.

I'm far from the only person who feels that way. I live in Minnesota, and will be voting on that office. It affects me. I want to know the truth of the matter.

[Lee-Lee]

110. Oh you are doing it. You just can't see what your doing

Your setting a very different standard of prof you demand from the victim than from the abuser, because “he’s a good guy”.

Your demanding proof to your own personal satisfaction that demands she release videos of perhaps the most traumatizing, demeaning moment of her life so you can personally view it- demanding she expose such an event to the greatest degree publicly possible. And it seems nothing less is good enough based on your statement.

A person who cared about also respecting her as a person and also not serving to perpetuate the stigma about DV victims speaking out would not have such a “show me X,Y,Z to the way I want it personally or I refuse to take you seriously because the other party seems so good to me” attitude nor would they make such public statements.

An attitude that reserved judgement and also didn’t perpetuate and show your own biases against victims speaking out and respected her feelings and privacy would be more like “these are serious allegations, but more evidence is needed. It is reasonable to not want a tape of your abuse all over for the world to see, so how about it being shown to a trusted third party who can verify its existence”.

[IluvPitties]

112. So, what are voters supposed to do? Just believe her now and vote against the guy?

[Lee-Lee]

116. I laid that out in the post you just responded to

Your attitude is “release the video now so I can personally view it or I won’t believe you”. Without any regard to how embarrassing or traumatic having the whole world see the video may be. And it shows your default position is automatically to disbelieve the victim.

That sends a message one way. To her and, more important in my eyes, to every victim of domestic violence struggling with if they should or come foward.

Or you could say “These are serious allegations. I don’t yet have enough information to make a judgement, so I can’t make a judgement yet. I know releasing the video may be traumatic and embarrassing so hopefully a trusted third party can review it and verify it exists so we can be better informed as voters while respecting her privacy and not adding more levels of trauma to what is already a very traumatic experience”.

See how both can get you more info, but your attitude sends the message that a victim by default is not to be believed and has no respect for her as a person with regards to her privacy, exposing her to more trauma, or anything else. The second treats her as a person who is worthy or respect and shouldn’t be exposed to additional trauma or embarrassment and who is worthy of being taken seriously instead of being assumed to be dishonest.

[nini]

118. Expecting someone to back up such serious claims is n when they say they have proof is not shaming

I know a guy who spent time in prison over rape who did not do it. The 'victim' recanted years later when her conscious finally got to her.


I also know women who were not believed because there were not witnesses or evidence and that is wrong too. I don't think anymore here believes that's ok.

The issue here is she claims she has proof. The world doesn't need to see that video if she doesn't want it out there. But she needs to get someone in a position of authority to see it and back her up.

If he did indeed do these things his career should be over. No excuses.

However he also deserves to have the proof she has said she has to be released.

[IluvPitties]

111. Honestly, timing is suspect.

Not dismissing her claims, but after what happened to Al, I am a bit more cautious when it comes to these types of things.

[Greybnk48]

113. This feels more like an "Acorn" scam than

a woman being abused story. He dragged her off the bed and told her to get out of the house, and her son was standing there filming it all? And that's destroyed her life for YEARS? That's what she said in the interview I watched. This is another Al Frankenesque hit job attempt.

[noobareus]

114. just out of curiosity

Does anyone know if Ms Monahan is any relation to the Monahans' from Michigan? As in Tom Monahan?

[MichMan]

130. No

Last name is spelled differently

[DFW]

119. This will not be resolved easily. He-said-she-said rarely is.

My wife is a retired social worker. I know only too well that battered women are to speak up about their abuse, both during and after. Even if all the allegations are true, the victim feels degraded and shamed if their suffering is made public.

Ellison, on the other hand, has no solid defense at all against verbal allegations. Denial is all he has. You can't prove a negative. He may be a Muslim, but he is also someone who was born and brought up here, so one can't just toss his religion at him, and say, "yup, this is how Muslims treat their women." Also, saying, "we have a video that proves our allegations, but we're not letting anyone see it" is not exactly overwhelming evidence against him. Having it made in the first place without Ellison knowing would make an interesting story in itself (watch "The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest" ).

How Monahan and Ellison perceived what happened between them is obviously radically different.

The only solution I can think of would be to have to video in question first professionally examined for doctoring, and then, once pronounced clean by the techie, having it shown in a room with only Ellison and his attorney present. Then let Ellison discuss with his attorney what they have just seen, and make his own decision on how to proceed.

[davsand]

121. All she needs to do show the tape to a respected journalist who can confirm it exists.

The entire debate can be laid to rest without her having to release the tape. Her privacy (which was erased just as soon as her son chose to get out in public) is protected from the world watching the tape aired on an endless loop, and her veracity is verified.

If she doesn't want to give an exclusive to anybody, show it to a "few" journalists at the same time with no recording devices allowed in.

This **can** be laid to rest.


Laura

[VOX]

123. "I was using my mom's computer trying to download something and I clicked on a file."

An unimpeachable innocent youth’s opening gambit, digging through his mom’s computer to “download something,” when, low and behold, out jumps a complete multi-media presentation package!

This story stinks like the bait box on a hot day at the pier.

[ananda]

126. If somebody says they have proof, they need to show it!

If not .. smells like a skunk in an outhouse.

[Charlotte Little]

127. When I was 14...

...I was raped by a family friend who also happened to be a school teacher on a military base and the school's football coach. It took me to age 21 to finally tell a therapist about it but only after visiting home and finding out that a young girl was staying with him (and his complicit wife) just as I had when I was a minor (my parents were going through a divorce and sent me to stay with the couple for days at a time over a two year period.) The therapist convinced me to call the police in my home town to report it.

Long story short, he had claimed eight more victims, one of them a boy he had coached, by the time I finally contacted the police. But they didn't just take my word for it. I had to fly home on four separate occasions, spending $$$$ of money I didn't have, to talk to the DA and a panel of law enforcement - all MEN. I had to tell what happened to me over and over and over. It was utterly humiliating and awful.

But you know what? Without my willingness to do so, he'd have continued raping vulnerable teenagers with the help of his wife. So, it was damn well worth it and I don't blame those men who questioned me as if I were guilty one bit.

Coming forward to report sexual assault of any kind is never easy, comfortable, or enjoyable. And often, you don't have any control over the process. So, while I do think this woman has a right to be believed enough for a thorough investigation, I will not for one second defend her right to complete privacy. Ellison should demand she either provide a copy of that alleged video to his lawyers or else she is lying, since she has backed up her son's assertion that the video exists and the son watched it on her laptop. It should not be played to the public as it is none of our business to watch it. The lawyers can duke it out in court. End of story.

We women are not fragile dandelions. Accusing others of heinous crimes is serious and not about our feelings. Just as I had to do, put up or shut up. In my case, I was telling the truth and the truth prevailed.