A lawyer who “was unable to substantiate” the domestic violence allegations against Rep. Keith Ellison is a partner of a law firm that donated more than $500,000 to Democrats since 1998, with nearly $50,000 to the embattled congressman running for the state’s attorney general position.
Susan Ellingstad is a partner at Lockridge Grindal Nauen P.L.L.P law firm and was picked by Minnesota's Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party to investigate Karen Monahan’s allegations of domestic abuse after she came forward in August.
At the time, the party’s chairman Ken Martin said Ellingstad was hired to make sure the probe “wouldn’t be colored by people with associations with the party.”
But records show that Ellingstad’s law firm has extensive ties to Democrats and overwhelmingly donated to Democrats since 1998. More than $500,000 was spent on various Democratic House and Senate candidates, with only half of that sum to Republican candidates,
according to the Center for Responsive Politics data.
The firm’s PAC, Lockridge Grindal Nauen Political Fund, supported Ellison from the onset of his political career, with the earliest contributions starting in 2004 when he was running for the re-election to the Minnesota House of Representatives.
Since then, Ellison has been among the top recipients of the money from the firm every election cycle. He has received nearly $50,000 since 2004.
The lawyer herself is involved with her law firm’s PAC, donating nearly $46,000 since 2005, the data from the Federal Election Commission shows. She also made a small $500 contribution to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in 2016.
Lawyer who cleared Ellison of domestic abuse allegations is partner at firm that donated $500G to Dems