Tag: Keith Ellison

Keith Ellison, Rebecca Lucero: We will prove LGBTQ discrimination is not free speech

The following is an op-ed penned by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Rebecca Lucero, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Rights. The op-ed was published this week in the Star Tribune.

Minnesotans are decent people. We think everyone, no exceptions, should be able to live with the same dignity and respect we want for ourselves and our families. But that common decency is under attack in court.

Last month, the federal appeals court for the Eighth Circuit – in a divided 2-1 ruling with a strong dissent – ruled that, in at least one narrow, hypothetical case, a business in Minnesota that offers services to the general public can use the owners’ personal beliefs to discriminate against same-sex couples. Continue reading “Keith Ellison, Rebecca Lucero: We will prove LGBTQ discrimination is not free speech”

Minnesota joins lawsuit against generic medication manufacturers

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced Monday that the state is joining a major lawsuit filed against the makers of more than 100 generic prescription medications accused of illegally fixing prices.

Minnesota joins 42 states and the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico in the lawsuit, led by the state of Connecticut.

The lawsuit alleges 20 corporate manufacturers and 15 individuals conspired to illegally fix prices and “allocate markets for 112 prescription generic drugs that treat cancer, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, anxiety, high blood pressure, HIV, and other conditions,” according to a statement from Ellison’s office.

View the complete May 13 article on the KSTP TV website here.

18 State Attorneys General Urge US Attorney General Barr To Release Mueller Report

The following release was posted on the New York Attorney General’s website on March 22:

“As the top law officers in states across the country, we strongly urge United States Attorney General Barr to immediately make public the findings of the Mueller investigation. The American people deserve to know the truth.”

The following Attorneys General signed onto this statement: Continue reading “18 State Attorneys General Urge US Attorney General Barr To Release Mueller Report”

Attorney General Ellison, Reps. Hassan, Noor and Council Member Warsame to Hold Town Hall

SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Attorney General Keith Ellison, Representative Hodan Hassan (DFL – Minneapolis), Representative Mohamud Noor (DFL – Minneapolis), and Minneapolis City Council Member Abdi Warsame will hold a Community Listening Session on February 27. The discussion will focus on issues the elected officials plan to address cooperatively, as well as their individual priorities at the municipal, legislative and statewide levels. All members of the community are invited to attend.

WHAT: Community Listening Session

WHO: Rep. Hodan Hassan, Rep. Mohamud Noor, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Council Member Abdi Warsame

WHERE: Brian Coyle Center, 420 15th Ave S, Minneapolis

WHEN: Wednesday, February 27, from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Ellison: Minnesota receiving $3.1 million in settlements with Walgreens, Johnson & Johnson

Credit: Leila Navidi, Star Tribune file

Minnesota was among dozens of states to file suit against the two health companies.

Minnesota will receive $3.1 million through settlements reached in three multi­state health care fraud-related lawsuits filed against Walgreens and Johnson & Johnson.

The largest share of the money, more than $2.1 million, comes from a $120 million settlement reached this month in a lawsuit filed by Minnesota and 45 other state attorneys general against Johnson & Johnson that alleged its subsidiary, DePuy, made misleading claims about how long its metal-on-metal hip-implant devices would last. The devices failed faster than DePuy claimed, according to Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, requiring implant revision surgeries and causing pain, allergic reactions and other adverse health effects.

Minnesota was also part of two lawsuits filed by numerous states against Walgreens that began as whistleblower complaints. One suit, from which Minnesota will recover more than $761,000, alleged that Walgreens knowingly sent “hundreds of thousands” more insulin pens than needed to Medicare, Medicaid and other federal health care beneficiaries — improperly billing the federal health programs in the process.

View the complete January 25 article by Stephen Montemayor on The Star Tribune website here.

Keith Ellison ushers in new era for Minnesota Attorney General’s Office

Attorney General Keith Ellison signed the paperwork to make it official after he took the oath of office at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul. Credit: Anthony Souffle, Star Tribune

With one hand on a Qur’an, Keith Ellison ushered in a new era Monday for the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, promising to use his new role as “the People’s Lawyer” as a vehicle that will take the office’s reach to every corner of the state.

With one hand on a Qur’an, Keith Ellison ushered in a new era Monday for the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, promising to use his new role as “the People’s Lawyer” as a vehicle that will take the office’s reach to every corner of the state.

“Minnesotans deserve an Attorney General’s Office where they can count on fair treatment and equal justice,” Ellison said during his inaugural address inside the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul. “And they won’t just come to us — we will go to them. There is no town, no county too small or too far from the metro that my office will not do everything it can to help.”

For the first time in more than a decade, Minnesota has a new chief legal officer as Ellison follows Lori Swanson, who departed following an unsuccessful bid for governor last year. Ellison, the state’s 30th Attorney General is also its first African-American and first Muslim to hold the office. Ellison was also the first Muslim elected to Congress, where he served six terms before capturing his first statewide office in November.

View the complete January 7 article by Stephen Montemayor on The Star Tribune website here.

Attorney General-elect Keith Ellison prepares to take on drug companies as he takes over Attorney General’s office

In the wake of November’s election, pharmaceutical companies across the country announced massive price hikes to crucial medications. As Keith Ellison prepares his agenda for his tenure as Minnesota Attorney General, he has set his eyes on these price hikes and the companies behind them. 

From MPR:

As a candidate for attorney general, Keith Ellison said he would work to help people afford their lives and ensure they have dignity and respect. Ellison said those goals remain unchanged as he prepares to take office next week.

Drug prices, student debt and housing costs are among his top priorities, he said. Continue reading “Attorney General-elect Keith Ellison prepares to take on drug companies as he takes over Attorney General’s office”

Skip Humphrey and Walter Mondale: Keith Ellison is the right choice for the critical job of attorney general

The Editorial Board was mistaken not to endorse a candidate. As former AGs, we know that Ellison is well-prepared for the job, and Doug Wardlow is unsuited for it.

The Star Tribune Editorial Board erred in its decision not to endorse in the Minnesota attorney general’s race (“Two deeply flawed AG candidates,” Nov. 2). As two former Minnesota attorneys general, we can say with confidence that Keith Ellison is well-prepared to fulfill the important duties of this essential constitutional office and is the only reasonable choice for Minnesota voters in this election.

The board did get it right when it concluded that Doug Wardlow is unsuited for office. His pledge to politically purge “42 Democratic attorneys right off the bat,” and install a loyalty test for newly hired lawyers, is singularly disqualifying. The Minnesota attorney general should be concerned only with hiring the best attorneys to serve the people of Minnesota, not those eager to serve a political agenda. We were heartened to see Keith Ellison pledge this week to support civil service reforms in the Attorney General’s Office, to ensure that the political purge Wardlow has promised cannot occur under any future attorney general.

A deeper examination of Wardlow’s record and agenda makes clear that he is out of step with the priorities of this office, and of the people of Minnesota. One of the most important duties of the office is to protect Minnesota consumers, yet Wardlow has pledged to side with large corporations over individuals’ rights. And he has refused to support lawsuits against the opioid manufacturers who, like the cigarette companies that the Attorney General’s Office previously brought to account, have made millions off addiction and death in our state.

Skip Humphrey served as Minnesota attorney general from 1983 to 1999. Walter Mondale is a former vice president and served as Minnesota attorney general from 1960 to 1964. Both are Democrats.

View the complete November 2 commentary by Skip Humphrey and Walter Mondale on the Star Tribune website here.

Former AG candidate Noah Johnson reminds people to vote for Keith Ellison

Keith’s former opponent, Noah Johnson of the Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis Party, dropped out of the race and endorsed Keith a few weeks ago. He released a video today asking folks to vote for Keith Ellison.

Even though Noah dropped out and endorsed Keith, he’s still going to be on the ballot, so we need to spread the word ourselves: