- Democratic National Committee Deputy Chair Keith Ellison’s ex-wife allegedly abused him, the U.S. congressman from Minnesota wrote in newly-released divorce papers.
- Ellison claims his ex-wife, Kim Ellison, faked a disability and twice faked suicide.
- He also alleges that Kim harassed Karen Monahan, who he would later date. Monahan later accused him of abuse, and Ellison admitted to calling her a “bitch.”
Keith Ellison, the Democratic National Committee’s deputy chair, said in divorce papers that claims by his ex-wife should not be believed and said that he is a “domestic abuse victim.”
The records were unsealed Wednesday despite efforts by Ellison’s ex-wife, Kim Ellison, to block their release.
“It was very humiliating to admit that I was a domestic abuse victim,” he wrote.
“I need to talk about the Respondent’s credibility,” Ellison, a U.S. congressman for Minnesota, wrote. “The Respondent is not credible. She does not tell the truth. Throughout our marriage, she was physically abusive to me.”
“The Respondent harassed female friends and colleagues on the phone and through texts — specifically, Batala McFarlane, Hiam Nawas, Karen Monahan,” he continued.
Ellison engaged in a romantic relationship with Monhan as well, who later said Ellison physically abused her, and dragged her across the room by her hair. She said there is a video, but has declined to produce it, implying it is because she is naked in the video.
Monahan did produce contemporaneous notes where she told a doctor she was being abused by Ellison. Ellison admitted to calling her a “bitch.”
Another former girlfriend also accused Ellison of abuse, and Ellison attacked her credibility.
In the divorce filing against his ex-wife, a member of the local school board, Ellison wrote: “She stole my government issued cellphone and stole the SIM card from it. She kicked me out of my home numerous times, both in the daytime and in the middle of the night.”
“Running from her, I spent nights in hotels and friends’ homes,” he continued. “The Respondent, on one occasion, locked me out of my DC apartment when I had one. When she finally allowed me back in, she pulled a knife out of the kitchen drawer and swore she was going to stab herself to death.”
“When I tried to stop her, she pulled it on me,” Ellison said. “Luckily, she didn’t stab me, but I had to sleep with one eye open.”
The Star-Tribune and Alpha News pressed for their release in court, and Nathan Hansen of Alpha News tweeted the papers.
Ellison is running for attorney general of Minnesota. (RELATED: Domestic Abuse Allegations Taking Toll in AG Race)
“The Respondent has hit me too many times to mention,” Ellison wrote. “At a family counseling session in 2009, I reported the Respondent’s abuse to the therapist asked the Respondent why she didn’t hit the children, but hit me.”
“She said ‘because he can take it,'” he continued. “The respondent hit me numerous times and occasions. I have pictures of her inflicting gashes on my skin. On a separate occasion, she bit my arm, which left a circular mark in the form of a bite. Trayshana Thomas, a member of my staff, asked me about it. It was very humiliating to admit that I was a domestic abuse victim.”
He said he was forced to sleep on the couch in his congressional office, causing him to suffer back pain which he had to treat with massage.
“Respondent stole items, including souvenirs for staff and constituents that I brought back from trips,” Ellison wrote. “She stole clothes I bought. I found brand new shirts, shoes and sock in the garbage, with tags still on. Even though she never helped clean, on that occasion, she said she was cleaning and threw these things away by accident.”
He also said Kim Ellison was faking disability.
“The Respondent is as active as ever… Her only proof is that she has been determined by the Social Security Administration to be disabled,” Ellison wrote. “She proves no documents … She shows little or no signs of being limited by her physical condition.”
He wrote that his ex-wife “faked” two suicide attempts to get attention from him.
Ellison did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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