Overview
- The four-member Ethics Committee, which met Friday, voted unanimously that none of the complaints against Reps. Elliott Engen, Walter Hudson, or Alex Falconer showed probable cause.
- DFL leaders had accused Engen and Hudson of leaving a March 26 Education Finance hearing for a nearby bar in St. Paul, where a former staffer photographed them with beers during meeting time.
- Hours after that lunch, White Bear Lake police arrested Engen on suspicion of DWI, and court records list misdemeanor DWI, fourth-degree DWI, and speeding charges with a June 26 arraignment; police also noted Hudson had a handgun but he was not charged after no tests were taken.
- Republicans alleged Falconer violated House rules by carrying Boundary Waters bills tied to groups he worked for, while he said he is not a lobbyist and argued that Minnesota’s part-time legislature expects members to bring outside expertise.
- Speaker Lisa Demuth had already removed Engen and Hudson from committee posts after the March incident, and Friday’s rare ethics hearing ended with a reminder that members are expected to attend assigned committees.