When a Senator is arrested for breaking into a home at 4:45 am in the morning, it’s not a stretch to say that goes against the ethical conduct of an elected senator. These facts are not disputed.
What is disputed is if Senator Nicole Mitchell’s statements after the arrest were true – that she was conducting a welfare check on a relative who was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
Those statements certainly don’t seem to be accurate considering a police report says she was wearing all black, had a flashlight covered by a sock, had a bag of items belonging to the victim, left Woodbury at 1 am in the morning to drive across the state, when the victim called 911, she fled and hid in the basement, and upon being Mirandized, she stated “I know I did something bad.”
A court and a jury of her peers will eventually weigh in on the criminality of Senator Mitchell’s actions in the near future. But last night, the Minnesota Ethics Committee finally met to determine if probable cause existed that Mitchell violated the ethics of the Senate and if so, what should be done about it.
For those who watched, it was quite evident that the Democrats who control the Minnesota Senate, have little interest in holding Mitchell accountable for her actions. The hearing was bogus political theater that began with an hour and a half ridiculous 13 month old complaint levied against Sen. Glenn Gruenhagen by woke Sen. Erin Maye-Quade.
When the Mitchell complaint was finally heard, starting around 6:30 pm last night, the one thing common sense Minnesotans wanted, public accountability, was clearly not on the agenda. Senator Nicole Mitchell never uttered a single word at the hearing. Instead, her quick-witted, well prepared defense attorney spoke on her behalf, invoking fifth amendment rights.
The reputation of the Minnesota Senate took a huge fall last night. A sitting senator can apparently break into a home, get arrested, refuse to speak to the public or answer ethic questions by her peers, but still vote on billions of dollars of spending and legislation that affects the lives of millions of Minnesotans.
How can Senator Nicole Mitchell continue to serve the people of her district and Minnesota when she is refusing to speak to the public. As her defense attorney stated multiple times, she has been advised not to speak for fear of harming her trial – which is exactly why she is incapable of serving the public. She deserves due process in the judicial system, and should probably resign immediately so she can focus on her criminal case.
If the criminal case won’t be decided for months and the Democrats refuse to hold one of their own accountable, the only thing left is for Republicans to keep Senator Mitchell’s case front and center of everything in the final two weeks of the legislative session. Mitchell put herself into this mess when she decided to enter a home she was not supposed to be in.
Unfortunately, after multiple votes that left the two Republican, two Democrat Ethics Committee in a gridlock on what to do about the Mitchell complaint, the members recessed for an “executive session” behind closed doors and emerged after 9 pm with a decision to punt the determination until June 12th, after Mitchell’s next court date. Sen Jeremy Miller (R-Winona) voted with the Democrats.
Now until the Legislature adjourns on May 20th, there will be no more ethics cloud hovering over Senator Mitchell. She’ll be free to vote on the Democrat’s radical, left-wing agenda unless the public outcry is so large that she does us all a favor and resigns on her own.
