Charges of physical violence against the former girlfriend of the number-two official of the Democratic Party, Rep. Keith Ellison, have far more corroborative evidence (including a medical report and contemporaneous Facebook posts) than the charges of Christine Blasey Ford.  But an investigator hired by Minnesota Democrats, officially the Democratic Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), proclaims that because the victim, Karen Monahan, refuses to release video of the assault she claims to possess, the charges are "unsubstantiated."

Tim Pearce reports in the Daily Caller:

An investigation into the alleged abuse came to an end Monday after Monahan refused to turn over the video that allegedly showed Ellison screaming at Monahan while dragging her by her feet.

You are not entitled to my pain and trauma. You are not entitled to see me getting dragged, when my body is being exposed in more ways than one. This is my trauma, I dealt with the abuse. I have already shared more than I was originally comfortable with. #WhyIDidntReport

— Karen Monahan (@KarenMonahan01) October 1, 2018

Pearce continues:

The Democrat Party of Minnesota hired Minneapolis lawyer Susan Ellingstad, a partner of the firm, to handle the investigation.  Ellingstad ended the investigation and concluded "that the allegation is unsubstantiated" after Monahan refused to turn over the video as evidence, according to a draft of Ellingstad's report.

"An allegation standing alone is not necessarily sufficient to conclude that conduct occurred, particularly where the accusing party declines to produce supporting evidence that she herself asserts exists," the draft says.  "She has thus repeatedly placed the existence of the video front and center to her allegations, but then has refused to disclose it."

Monahan alleged that Ellison physically and emotionally abused her when the two were dating sometime after Ellison divorced in 2012 until Ellison and Monahan split in 2016.

While the video's existence has never been verified, Monahan did release pictures of a 2017 doctor's report corroborating her story and naming Ellison as her abuser.

As Valerie Richardson of the Washington Times notes:

Minnesota DFL chairman Ken Martin said in a statement afterward to media outlets that the party would forward the 15-page report to local authorities "to let them review the contents and determine whether further investigation is warranted."

The local authorities in Minneapolis – one of the bluest cities in the United States – may or may not act before the midterm election in which Ellison is running for attorney general – the chief law enforcement officer in the state.  The local media, especially the state's dominant newspaper, the Star-Tribune, have almost completely ignored the story, until yesterday, and so Minnesota Democrats disregard it, with only 5% saying they believe the charges.

Richardson further reports:

His [Ellison's] Republican opponent for Minnesota attorney general, former state Rep. Doug Wardlow, blasted the investigation as a "sham," insisting that the "credible and substantiated domestic violence claims against Keith Ellison demonstrate that he is unfit to be Minnesota's Attorney General.

"As predicted, the sham 'investigation' led by the DFL party attorney's legal partner has concluded in favor of the party's Attorney General candidate," said Mr. Wardlow in a statement.  "But the publicly available evidence contradicts that conclusion."

The timing of this report is ideal, because on Thursday, President Trump is planned to speak to a rally in Rochester (Minn.), home of the Mayo Clinic, where there is an opportunity to flip the First Congressional District seat to the GOP.  It would shock me if Trump did not take the opportunity to compare the Dems' standard on Ellison with their standard on Kavanaugh.  Minnesota also has two Senate races underway, owing to the resignation of Al Franken.

I grew up in Minnesota and know that the state is very conscious of the opinions of the rest of the nation and has a general commitment to fairness and niceness.  If the state's Democrats start to look bad for embracing Ellison, and Trump points out the shame that brings, it might move more than a few voters to reconsider voting D.