Minnesota ethics panel to consider how to deal with senator charged with burglary

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota Senate ethics panel on Tuesday is expected to begin considering what to do with a lawmaker who’s charged with burglary for allegedly breaking into her estranged stepmother’s house.

Democratic Sen. Nicole Mitchell, of Woodbury, told police she broke in last month because her stepmother refused to give her items of sentimental value from her late father, including his ashes, according to the felony complaint. Her attorney has said she deserves due process and won’t resign.

Mitchell’s status has posed a dilemma for her fellow Democrats because they hold a one-seat majority in the Senate, so they need her vote to pass anything that lacks bipartisan support. They have excluded her from caucus meetings and taken her off her committees but have not publicly asked her to quit.

Mitchell resumed voting last week on the Senate floor, even on votes that affect her fate. Senate Republicans forced hours of debate on unsuccessful attempts to remove her, slowing the pace of legislation as the May 20 adjournment deadline nears.

The Senate GOP complaint alleges her actions “betray the public trust and bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute.”

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