MINNEAPOLIS _ A Hennepin County Family Court referee on Friday agreed to unseal U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison's divorce file, and said it would happen next week.
Referee Jason T. Hutchison, in an order Friday, wrote that the file would be unsealed on Oct. 17, with the exception of documents subject to restrictions under state law. The Star Tribune and Alpha News, a right-leaning news website, sought the closed file's public release.
The motions follow allegations by Ellison's ex-girlfriend, Karen Monahan, that the Minnesota Democrat tried to drag her off a bed during an argument in 2016. He denies the allegation.
Divorce records are typically public, but judges will often agree to seal them if both parties to the case agree and no one else objects.
Earlier this week, Ellison called on Hutchison to deny the motions while speaking to reporters during a campaign stop in Rochester.
"My ex-wife, Kim, and I are good friends," said Ellison, who is a candidate for attorney general. "She has said repeatedly that there is ... nothing that has ever happened similar to what Karen Monahan falsely accused me of, so it really should not be (unsealed). It's unfair to my kids and unfair to her, and I hope the judge turns down the people who want to open up our divorce file."
An attorney hired by the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party to investigate the allegation could not substantiate it after Monahan refused to share a video of the incident that she has said she recorded.
