MINNEAPOLIS - The divorce records of Congressman Keith Ellison were opened to the public Wednesday, following a judge’s order after a request by news website Alpha News and the Star Tribune.
Divorce records are presumed to be open to the public, but the judge sealed the file during Ellison’s 2012 divorce at the request of the couple.
Alpha News argued the public should be able to examine the files, since Ellison has been accused of domestic abuse by two other women.
KARE 11 News examined the hundreds of documents in the divorce file, and Ellison’s ex-wife makes no allegations of abuse in them.
Ellison released the following statement, after the records were unsealed:
“I am extremely disappointed that the Court has gone back on its agreement to seal Kim and my divorce file, agreeing to open it at the request of a far-right propaganda outlet with a history of racism and religious bigotry, Alpha News, and the Star Tribune.
“I understand perhaps better than most that as a public official, my personal life falls under higher scrutiny than others. But to pry into the details of a sealed divorce file that the Court previously ordered closed, on the eve of an election, is shameful and outrageous.
“Kim Ellison is a wonderful person. We met in driver’s training as teenagers and raised four beautiful children together, who are now awesome adults. We had a storybook marriage until the onset of her illness, which was not diagnosed until long after she was suffering the effects of it. One of the great regrets of my life is that I did not appreciate the debilitating effects of Kim’s illness until the doctors told us that it was Multiple Sclerosis and major depression. I attribute the difficulties in our marriage to the disease and my failure to understand it. I was not nearly sensitive enough to the symptoms of her medical condition at the time, and for that I am deeply sorry.
“Kim and I have rebuilt a strong friendship as parents to our four wonderful children. I am proud of the person Kim is. We are family, and I stand by her.”
Rep. Ellison is running for Minnesota Attorney General in November.