Today Senate Democrats continued to protect their power by failing to take any disciplinary action against Sen. Nicole Mitchell (D-Woodbury), who is charged with two felony counts related to an alleged burglary.
The committee had two separate complaints to consider, the first is an amended complaint from new evidence in her criminal case, and the second is regarding a violation of Senate rules for voting on a motion without disclosing a conflict of interest.
“Democrats have made it clear they are willing to do anything to protect their political power,” Senate Republican Leader Mark Johnson (R-East Grand Forks) said. “The updated charges and police reports indicate that Sen. Mitchell knew exactly what she was doing and understood there would be consequences. Then she admitted she would recuse herself from a vote on her expulsion but doesn’t think she needs to recuse herself from procedural motions leading to that vote.
“Don’t let the technicalities and legalities fool you—Sen. Mitchell and the Democrats are in denial about the problem her actions have created for the Senate and the state,” Johnson said.
New evidence in burglary case
The updated complaint stems from a second felony charge filed against Mitchell on February 10, following new evidence involving a crowbar that did not belong to the stepmother according to an updated charging document.
Senator Karin Housley (R-Stillwater), who signed onto the original complaint highlighted the nefarious nature of how Mitchell has used both senate rules and judicial delays to avoid punishment and deny justice to her stepmother.
“The real victim in this case is Carol Mitchell,” Housley explained. “Recently, Carol Mitchell has been diagnosed with a cognitive impairment. All of us know someone who has been diagnosed with a memory disorder, and in these cases, days can matter. These delays to manipulate the system and the Senate rules are all by design and serve to make it harder for Carol Mitchell to speak about her experience with clarity.
“Due process is foundational to this country, but what has happened here is not due process – it’s a manipulation of procedure to prevent both the courts and the Senate from taking action to hold Senator Mitchell accountable for her actions,” Housley concluded.
The Ethics Committee, which is evenly balanced with two Democrats and two Republicans, requires bipartisan support for any action.
- A motion to expel Mitchell for her actions failed on a 2-2 tie.
- A motion to begin an investigation immediately into the complaint also failed on a 2-2 tie.
- A motion to delay action until after the trial passed unanimously with all four committee members voting in favor.
Conflict of Interest Complaint
A second complaint was filed against Mitchell for voting on a motion related to her expulsion. On January 27, Senate President Bobby Joe Champion (D-Minneapolis) ruled a motion to expel Mitchell out of order. On appeal of that ruling, all Democrats, including Mitchell, voted to uphold the president’s decision, denying the chamber an opportunity to vote on expulsion. At the time, the Senate was tied 33-33 after the death of a member, meaning the appeal failed due to a tie. Without Mitchell’s vote, the appeal would have failed and the motion to expel would have moved forward.
In his opening statement, Sen. Steve Drazkowski (R-Mazeppa) further explained the conflict, saying, “Minnesota statutes and Senate rules both outline the process for handling conflicts of interest and expect members to disclose any issue for which they have a financial conflict. Members are expected to abstain from votes for which they have a financial interest. Senator Mitchell did not disclose her conflict and did not abstain from a procedural vote that stood in the way of the senate conducting a vote on her expulsion.
“Senator Mitchell deliberately and defiantly violated the rules of ethical conduct of the Minnesota Senate. Her vote was the deciding vote that prevented the expulsion vote from occurring,” he concluded.
On the second complaint, the committee decided they did not need an investigation; however, they failed to take any action when a motion from Democrats to find no probable cause failed on a 2-2- tie. The complaint is still on file, but action is unlikely without new information.
The ethics committee was streamed in two parts, due to a brief recess for floor session.