Senator Mitchell, Redux
By Mitch Berg
Senator Mitchell (DFL Woodbury) was arraigned for First Degree Burglary in Becker County yesterday.
I’ll cop to the fact that I honestly hope someone who has attitudes about civil liberties and rights like she has, has a short political career.
Now, I really need to follow my. own counsel here; Berg’s 18th Law applies. We don’t know all the facts, and our media will be pretty worthless at getting those to us accurately anyway, especiallly since she’s one of their own – both as a media person and a Democrat.
So I’m jumping to no conclusions, here. Pinky swear.
Still – it’s been in the news. I’m gonna talk about it.
You Have The Right To Remain Silent: She doesn’t seem to have done herself many favors before arraignment; for someone with a JD, she seems to have missed the whole “don’t talk to the cops without an attorney present” thing:
I’m nothing if not a pollyanna: It all could be a huge misunderstanding. It’s a crazy world.
But, while I am no attorney, that seems to be a dumb thing to say to cops, when dressed in black, outside a place you have allegedly entered without authorization, dressed in black, before 5AM.
We’ll come back to that.
Anything You Say Can And Will Be Used Against You: Now, she was represented by counsel at her hearing. After which she (or someone claiming to e her) posted this on social media:
Now, I lost my mother to Alzheimers two years ago this week – after years of adventures including a ten hour drive to try to find her (long story). I’m nothing but sympathetic to relatives of Alzheimers patients.
But, uh…
- “Prompted me to check on the family member” – at 4:45 AM? Dressed in all black? And telling the cops you know you did something wrong after you were Mirandized?
- “have come and gone from countless times” – at 4:45 AM? Through, it is alleged, a basement window?
- “Startled this close relative” – at 4:45 AM, while allegedly dressed in black and entering the home through something other than a door? I don’t wonder.
Did her defense counsel know she was posting this? It seems…ill-advised, but again, I am no expert.
Speaking of the close relative:
The stepmother said in an interview that she’s afraid of her stepdaughter and applied for a restraining order against her. She also said that while most of her husband’s ashes were buried, she sent Mitchell a miniature container with some of them.
Is the stepmother genuinely afraid of Mitchell? Or suffering from delusions while suffering from dementia? Experience notwithstanding, I’m no expert – but either way, it seems that entering the woman’s house (allegedly) at 4:45AM, dressed like a ninja, through a window, might not be an optimal choice.
Senator Mitchell is of course innocent until proven guilty. But it is difficult to see how a DFL with any integrity, as opposed to lust for power in a Senate where Mitchell is the margin, keeps her in office. While she won her seat by a 18 point margin, having her in office is a problem.
April 24th, 2024 at 11:34 am
A couple of points:
1) According to MPRNEWS (Nicole’s former employer), the probate judge granted 100% of her father’s things to Nicole’s mother in-law. Therefore Nicole had no legal right to any of them.
2) Who is the “family member declining due to “Alzheimer’s and associated paranoia” that Nicole is “dealing with” (present tense)? Is this Carol, her mother in-law? Really, assuming Carol is approximately the same age as her late husband, that would put her at 74.
Certainly not impossible to be dealing with Alzheimer’s at that age, but not probably – especially given that the woman was awarded her late husband’s estate and, again apparently, lives alone.
Looks to me, more like a b*tchy daughter in-law who can’t bring herself to accept a probate court’s ruling.
April 24th, 2024 at 11:44 am
DFL with any integrity
Thought you’d slip that one by, huh?
April 24th, 2024 at 1:29 pm
Gosh I have never taken constitutional law at law school. How is it then that I know not to dress up in black, darken my flashlight, make a midnight run up to my stepmother’s house, enter said home without permission, and then take several items from that house without permission? Am I a natural legal genius?
April 24th, 2024 at 1:49 pm
a couple observations about the Right Honorable Senator Mitchell;
If convicted of this felony does the National Guard give her the Big Chicken Dinner and strip her of her pension? Or have UCMJ standards been relaxed?
Like the Right Honorable Senator Mitchell I also am not credentialed to publicly diagnose the mental health status of others but here goes; Is this just a just a hormonal/mental hiccup caused by early onset menopause? If thats the case shouldn’t charges be dropped – after all she identifies as a woman.
April 24th, 2024 at 2:16 pm
I know!! I know!! I got it!!
The “family member declining due to Alzheimer’s and associated paranoia” is none other than Nicole Mitchell herself!!!
Think about it.
It is the perfect “I can’t be held responsible” excuse for burglary and having Alzheimer’s puts her on a rocket sled to leadership, just like Joe Biden.
April 24th, 2024 at 2:34 pm
At what point does Keith Ellison take over this case from Becker County under the premise that Becker is run by Republicans and a DFL Senator obviously cannot get a fair deal?
April 24th, 2024 at 2:42 pm
As to the idea that you should never talk to the police without an attorney present, well that’s obviously only for the pleebs without JDs. Our esteemed senator on the other hand, IS an attorney, therefore there WAS an attorney present. Therefore it was just fine for her to run her mouth to the cops, presumably cops with body cameras in this day and age.
April 24th, 2024 at 2:53 pm
It’s amusing to see someone use that argument from authority, a logical fallacy, and then use herself as the authority – with that valley girl affect. On top of that, the “(falsely) yell fire in a theater” argument itself is not all that convincing and the supposed inspiration for it, Oliver Wendell Holmes, later regretted using it.
Of course, being an incompetent malicious liar is what the DemoCommies are all about from the very top in DC down to the MN legislature, I guess.
April 24th, 2024 at 2:59 pm
I’ve seen this play out with in-laws where a step parent died, the other got everything, and the step-kids went nuts trying to get some of their parent’s stuff since it was “hers” and “should have gone to her kids.” There are pretty strong emotions involved in things like this, especially after death.
So while I understand, and have even seen a similar burglary incident by the step kids, even in their case I never saw an attempt at home invasion at 4 am dressed as a ninja. That’s pretty extreme by any standard, so there was probably more family drama than we’re being told.
As it stands, Mitchell is screwed. Only some pretty hefty political pressure will get her off the hook. Given the state of the Senate, I fully expect all sorts of pressure and shenanigans.
April 24th, 2024 at 3:41 pm
The thing that strikes me most about “trying to get things that belonged to me” is that when you’re talking about the death of a 74 year old, you are not generally talking about the laptop computers that were actually stolen. You are talking about china, pictures, furniture, quilts, Dad’s truck, his motorcycle, his fishing rods, that kind of thing.
So the huge mismatch between what Mitchell is saying, and what she’s done, suggests that there is something else going on besides “squabbles over family heirlooms that were supposed to be hers.” Now the interesting thing is that even gaming laptops aren’t that valuable, so I have to wonder what’s on the hard drives. Yes, I’m saying that we might have shades of Hunter Biden here.
April 24th, 2024 at 4:19 pm
So, my wife was saying that the DemoCommies have some rule that arraigned felons in the legislature can vote online or something? Is this true?
April 24th, 2024 at 5:42 pm
jdm, you can vote remotely, yes, and the verbiage of the rule doesn’t seem to exclude voting from jail. So we would expect that if a jail didn’t want to provide her with the tools to vote, there would be a lawsuit.
I don’t think she’ll go to jail very soon, but an interesting conundrum.
April 27th, 2024 at 6:37 pm
As soon as she admitted that she was looking to take things that he step-mom wouldn’t turn over, she admitted to burglary.
Worse, she admitted to burglary of occupied premises, which automatically makes it Burg 1 and triggers a mandatory minimum.