Minnesota State Senate ethics committee to probe DFL senator’s burglary arrest (2024)

ST. PAUL — A state ethics committee will hold a public hearing on Tuesday to weigh complaints against two sitting senators, including one who was arrested for felony burglary last month.

The Senate Subcommittee on Ethical Conduct is scheduled to meet at 1 p.m. and will discuss whether there is probable cause to move forward with internal investigations of Sens. Nicole Mitchell and Glenn Gruenhagen.

Mitchell, DFL-Woodbury, was arrested last month at her stepmother’s home in Detroit Lakes. In a criminal complaint, she said she was trying to retrieve her late father’s ashes and other items but wasn’t speaking with her stepmother. In a social media post, she later said the incident was a misunderstanding and attributed her trip there to doing a welfare check on a relative with memory issues.

The complaint against Gruenhagen, R-Glencoe, points to a graphic video that he shared via a link in an email last year ahead of a Senate vote on a bill creating legal protections for people seeking gender-affirming care and those who provide it.

Both complaints allege that the senators failed to “adhere to the highest level of ethical conduct,” which is a rule for Senate members. The committee could recommend a variety of next steps — ranging from calling for a public apology to expelling the members.

Mitchell’s attorney, Bruce Ringstrom Jr., said Mitchell will attend the hearing and “is hopeful that the committee will determine that the hearing is premature. She remains focused on preparing her defense of the criminal case.”

Ahead of the committee hearing, here’s what we know about the complaints and how the ethics committee might act.

It’s a four-person committee — split with two Republicans and two Democrats. It will take up those complaints on Tuesday and start discussing whether there is probable cause to move forward with their investigations.

Ultimately, it could offer a recommendation ranging from calling for an apology to expulsion. The Senate has never expelled a member before.

It’s unlikely that the panel will reach a final conclusion right away. Typically, the committee weighs the complaint and makes a probable cause determination. There can be interviews with people involved and other evidence considered. Follow-up hearings are possible.

In Mitchell’s case, her criminal process is ongoing and her next court hearing is scheduled for June 10 — after the legislative session adjourns.

Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul, said leaders are taking this process seriously and working hard to avoid having members hear information that could impact the process.

Mitchell previously sat in the chamber next to a DFL member of the panel and was moved to avoid a potential conflict of interest. Murphy also said the two DFL members on the committee — Sens. Bobby Joe Champion of Minneapolis and Mary Kunesh of New Brighton — have been asked to step out of caucus meetings if any mention of Mitchell comes up. Mitchell has been removed from caucus deliberations, too.

“We don’t want Minnesotans or our colleagues here to have any reason to believe that we are trying to manipulate, put our finger on the scale, influence or anything else other than let that subcommittee do its important work,” Murphy said. “We all need to trust that they are doing a fair job on behalf of the institution. And we shouldn’t play politics with that expectation.”

Contributed

Republicans in the chamber have also said the issue is very serious and should be dealt with quickly. In the days since the arrest, they have brought several motions aiming to block Mitchell from voting on the floor while the ethics complaint proceeds. Mitchell has been removed from her committee assignments.

“This is one of the most clear cases of a violation of our rules that we’ve seen,” Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson told reporters last week. “This is a serious charge. And I hope the ethics committee takes this very seriously and it is not a politically driven thing.”

Courtesy Minnesota Senate

Former DFL Sen. Ember Reichgott Junge served as chair of the ethics subcommittee in the 1990s. She oversaw ethics proceedings for six DFL senators faced with criminal charges while serving in office.

She urged the four-person panel to try to reach a unanimous recommendation and avoid making the proceeding political.

“Ethics knows no politics. Anyone can be accused of a complaint,” she said. “Let’s be fair, let’s be honest. Let’s be non-political.”

Reichgott Junge said in prior cases, including those she oversaw, the panel waited to proceed with a recommendation until criminal proceedings concluded. She also said the senators who faced ethics inquiries retained their right to floor votes as the ethics investigation moved forward.