According to information from Becker County and a 911 call, on April 22nd, Senator Nicole Mitchell from Woodbury broke into her stepmother’s home in the middle of the night, wearing all black, and using a flashlight covered in a black sock. On her Facebook page, she claims she was there to retrieve sentimental belongings and perform a wellness check. Yet in her statement to police, she admitted what she did was wrong, and that it was bad. These stories are conflicting. This news was shocking to hear.
After news came out regarding her actions, Senate Republicans took action. Many called for her resignation. Others simply suggested she abstain from voting until her case is decided. A group of Senators filed a formal ethics complaint, stating that her actions were unbecoming of a senator and cast a shadow over the work of the Senate. Despite these complaints, nothing has been done to hold Sen. Mitchell accountable for her actions.
As legislation has come to the floor, Republicans have raised concerns with Sen. Mitchell being the deciding vote on many controversial bills and amendments. Sen. Murphy claimed that Sen. Mitchell was stripped of her committees and was removed from her caucus. Well, the next day she came back and said Sen. Mitchell was stripped of her committees, but wasn’t formally removed from their caucus, she just wasn’t participating in caucus meetings. It’s alarming that Democrats have gone back and forth on these answers multiple times.
The Subcommittee on Ethics finally met to address the complaint that was filed, on which I was a co-signer. I want to be clear on this – the committee was not meant to determine if Sen. Mitchell was guilty or not, only if her actions violated the ethics of the Senate. I believe they did. Unsurprisingly, Sen. Mitchell did not say a single word, instead allowing her attorney to take all questions. Two Republicans and two Democrats serve on that committee. Republicans voted that there was probable cause and the investigation into her behaviors should continue, but the two Democrats were unwilling to agree. So at the end of the day, nothing was done.
When Senate Democrats brought forward an unconstitutional gun control bill, Senate Republicans raised issue with it. Instead of working with us and hearing what we had to say, Democrats allowed Sen. Mitchell to be the deciding vote. We took issue with that and moved to find her in violation of Senate ethics. Democrats adjourned the Senate in the middle of our motion.
There’s no way around it, this situation is an abuse of power, both by the Democrat caucus and Sen. Mitchell. Democrats are using Sen. Mitchell as a deciding vote to get their controversial bills to the finish line – they know without her vote, the bills will not pass. And it’s an abuse of power by Sen. Mitchell, who refuses to step aside in any way. Senators are held to a higher standard, and this situation undermines that. This situation has shattered public trust in our institution.
The handling of this situation calls into question the integrity of the Democrat caucus. They refuse to hold their own accountable. They will continue to use Sen. Mitchell as their deciding vote, despite the fact that her actions are clearly unbecoming of a Senator. This has brought national attention to our state in the worst way.