Democratic representative Keith Ellison (Minn.), now ensnared by a domestic abuse scandal of his own, was one of the only Democrats who didn't return contributions from a Saudi Arabia-tied political donor after he was convicted of violently assaulting his wife.
Ellison is denying accusations of domestic abuse that came from a former girlfriend who said he was physically abusive during their relationship. He maintains his leadership role with the Democratic National Committee as his Democratic colleagues in Congress take a "wait-and-see approach" to the abuse claims.
Ellison was revealed in 2016 to be more willing than others in his party to maintain associations with known domestic abusers.
After the details started to come out regarding violent actions from Ibrahim al-Rashid, the son of a Saudi Arabian multi-millionaire who lived in Florida and was a major Democratic donor, nearly all recipients of his campaign cash returned or donated the money.
Democrats such as former Florida representative Patrick Erin Murphy, who was close friends with both al-Rashid and his wife, and Senate Majority PAC, which received $100,000 from al-Rashid, returned the money.
Ellison was the first Democrat to receive money from al-Rashid, who in 2010 gave Ellison $2,600 and followed that donation up with a $10,000 contribution to the Democratic Party in Ellison's home state of Minnesota. Al-Rashid contributed an additional $5,000 to Ellison in 2011 and then $5,200 more in 2013.
Al-Rashid, according to a police report obtained by the Washington Free Beacon in May 2016, broke into his estranged wife's home and grabbed her by the wrist as he "struck her about the head and face with a closed fist" and threw her to the ground.
He then sent her a text message stating, "I am not sorry this time I hope you die in hell," indicating that it was not the first time he had hit her.
Ellison has never commented on the money he received from al-Rashid and other members of his family who also contributed to his political campaigns.
His campaign did not respond to a Thursday inquiry into whether he has reconsidered holding onto the money from al-Rashid.
Ellison addressed the domestic abuse allegations against him at length on Wednesday, a day after he won his party's primary for Minnesota's upcoming attorney general election.
He said his accuser, Karen Monahan, was lying about him and urged her to drop her claims.
"We don't have to destroy each other," Ellison said during the interview.
Ellison was similarly accused of assault in 2005 by a woman who said he came over to her home uninvited and put his hands on her. The woman, Amy Alexander, said Ellison "could explode in a tirade at any moment" and "was a little dictator."