A Minnesota Senate ethics committee failed to take disciplinary action against Sen. Nicole Mitchell, DFL-Woodbury, on Thursday as the committee voted along party lines on motions related to her criminal case and alleged conflict of interest.
Mitchell has been charged with two felony burglary counts stemming from an incident 11 months ago, when she was arrested after allegedly breaking into her stepmother’s home. The latest charge, filed on Feb. 10, cites new evidence, including a crowbar found at the scene that prosecutors say did not belong to the stepmother.
Senate Republicans criticized Democrats for not supporting efforts to discipline Mitchell, despite many public calls for her to resign, even from the former chair of the Minnesota DFL, Ken Martin, just last year.
“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 after Thursday’s hearing. “The updated charges and police reports indicate that Sen. Mitchell knew exactly what she was doing and understood there would be consequences.”
The committee considered two separate complaints against Mitchell. The first involves an amended ethics complaint following the second felony charge. The second complaint alleges that Mitchell violated Senate rules by voting on a procedural motion related to her potential expulsion without disclosing a conflict of interest or recusing herself.
The ethics committee, composed of two Republicans and two Democrats, was deadlocked Thursday morning on key motions regarding the first complaint. A motion to expel Mitchell failed on a 2-2 tie, as did a motion to launch an immediate investigation. The committee then unanimously agreed to delay action until after Mitchell’s trial.
Sen. Mitchell addressed the committee and argued that Senate custom requires the committee to delay action until the allegations are resolved in the courts.
“Not only is it Senate custom, but it’s the will of the people of Minnesota, who we all represent,” said Mitchell, citing recent polling. She said her constituents have asked her to “stay and keeping working for them, and they deserve representation.”
Apart from an initial statement, Mitchell said she was not able to answer further questions related to the first ethics complaint.
Sen. Karin Housley, R-Stillwater, who signed the original ethics complaint, accused Mitchell of manipulating Senate rules and court proceedings.
“The real victim in this case is Carol Mitchell,” Housley said, referring to Mitchell’s stepmother. “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.”
Mitchell was originally scheduled to go on trial in January but a judge granted her request to postpone the proceedings until after the legislative session. Last May, Carol Mitchell told KSTP that she was “very recently diagnosed with very early stages of Alzheimer’s.”
“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,” said Housley.
On the second complaint, Republicans argued Mitchell improperly voted on a procedural motion in January that blocked a full Senate vote on her expulsion. Sen. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa, said members are required to disclose conflicts of interest and abstain from votes in which they have a financial stake.
“Senator Mitchell deliberately and defiantly violated the rules of ethical conduct of the Minnesota Senate,” he said.
Mitchell responded to the complaint by saying that legislators “vote on things all the time that have some level of conflict of interest because of the nature of our job.”
“The ability to vote is considered central in our ability to represent our constituents,” Mitchell said. “So barring of a vote must be incredibly narrow.”
“The one thing we must excuse ourselves for in terms of voting are conflicts of financial interest, which does not fit my circumstances, even if this had actually been an expulsion vote,” she continued. “Here’s the thing: had we gotten to that point, I would have excused myself from that.”
Drazkowski, however, argued that Mitchell’s vote “was the deciding vote that prevented the expulsion vote from occurring” and allowed her to retain her employment in the Senate.
The committee failed to take any action on the complaint after the DFL members’ motion to dismiss it failed on a 2-2 tie. Senate Republicans said the complaint remains on file, though further action is unlikely without new information.
Hayley Feland
Hayley Feland previously worked as a journalist with The Minnesota Sun, The Wisconsin Daily Star, and The College Fix. She is a Minnesota native with a passion for politics and journalism.
