MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota House Republicans Monday said they will file a formal ethics complaint against Rep. John Thompson if Democrats don't do it themselves by Wednesday.
It's the latest development in a saga that began July 6, when Rep. Thompson, a freshman House member who represents part of St. Paul's East Side, accused police of racially profiling him in a July 4 traffic stop.
First police revealed that Thompson has a current Wisconsin driver's license, which led critics to raise questions about his residency status. Then, late Friday, a Twin Cities TV station reported that Thompson was accused of domestic abuse on multiple occasions between 2003 and 2010 in Wisconsin, Eagan and St. Paul.
Thompson was never prosecuted or convicted of domestic violence, but the content in the police reports -- which included assaults in front of children --was the last straw for the state's top Democrats. On Saturday, Gov. Tim Walz, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, House Speaker Melissa Hortman, House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler, Senate Minority Leader Susan Kent and DFL Party Chair Ken Martin all called on Thompson to resign.
Thompson hadn't resigned by the end of the day Monday. He told KARE he would have an announcement about his intentions, but he needed to put out one fire at a time.
In the meantime, Thompson has been in Hennepin County District Court since last Tuesday, for a trial on a misdemeanor obstruction charge. He's accused of briefly resisting arrest when a Robbinsdale Police sergeant tried place handcuffs on him in 2019 at North Memorial Hospital.
Thompson is expected to take the witness stand Tuesday. He has said he was upset that friends and family members couldn't get into the emergency room to see a 19-year-old man who had shot himself in Faribault and was brought to the trauma center at North Memorial.
Body camera footage played in court Monday showed Thompson yelling at hospital security, responding officers and into a smart phone he was using to document what he considered a racist response by police and hospital staff, who eventually ordered a lockdown.
All ethics complaints are referred to the House Ethics Committee, which then launches a process of investigating the claim and eventually holding a hearing to gather more facts and deliberate what actions to take.
The range of actions include a reprimand, formal censure and expulsion from the House. The governor would need to call the legislature back into session to take such action.
Thompson's wife Aleatha "Lea" Austin-Thompson told KARE she was never abused, and that she's been in a relationship with Thompson for 20 years. Court records show they were married in 2020.
Thompson's attorney Jordan Kushner issued a statement over the weekend saying that Thompson and his wife dispute the authenticity of the police reports that led House leaders to call for his resignation.
Gov. Walz Monday expressed skepticism that the notion that police reports would be fabricated or doctored. He stood by his initial call for Thompson to resign.
"We all have transgressions, but what came out this weekend is an entirely different level of accusations," Walz said, remarking that legislative candidates need to be vetted more carefully.
"So, those things should've come out. It's not about prying. I think if you want to run for public office you know what comes with this."
Minnesota House Rule 6.10 lays out what qualifies as an ethics violation as follows:
"A complaint may be brought about conduct by a member that violates a rule or administrative policy of the House, that violates accepted norms of House behavior, that betrays the public trust, or that tends to bring the House into dishonor or disrepute."
So, there's nothing that specifically says it has to be something the lawmaker did after taking office. Thompson took office in January of 2021, long after the alleged behavior that led his party leaders to abandon him.
The House Ethics Committee will meet this Friday on an ethics complaint filed by Republican Eric Lucero against Thompson for something entirely different. Rep. Lucero complained that Thompson interrupted his filibuster without taking the proper parliamentary steps.
Rep. Lucero said Thompson repeatedly interrupted one of his floor speeches by asking by directly asking if the speech Lucero was giving had anything to do with the bill they were debating. This came during a point in the 2021 special session when the Republican minority was stalling passage of bills with lengthy filibusters and attempts to add amendments that had little chance of being adopted.
Under normal House rules Thompson would need to begin his objection by saying, "Madam Speaker, point of order!" And, after being recognized by the House Speaker, would then make the case that the opposing lawmaker's speech wasn't on point or relating to the topic at hand.