Minnesota Democrats seek ethics investigation of Hagedorn

By STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The head of the Democratic Party in Minnesota has denounced Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn over heavy spending on taxpayer-financed mailings to his constituents and called for the House Ethics Committee to investigate.

State Chairman Ken Martin made the call Wednesday after the Star Tribune reported that emails between Hagedorn and his staff showed he was personally involved in decision-making about the mailings. That was despite earlier statements blaming staff for exhausting around a fifth of office budget on mailings alone in the first three months of the year.

Hagedorn accuses the party of trying to prop up his opponent.