Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel has called on Democratic counterpart Tom Perez to explain Rep. Keith Ellison's (D., Minn.) relationship with noted anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan.
Ellison, the Democratic National Committee's vice chairman, claimed recently he hadn't had contact with Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam, since 2006. However, the pair have been together at least three times since 2010. His untrue claims earned a "four Pinocchios" rating from the Washington Post fact checker.
Questions over their relationship were reignited following anti-Semitic speech Farrakhan gave in February. The speech also criticized Ellison for having distanced himself from the group when he ran for Congress in 2006. The Nation of Islam leader even displayed a photo of Ellison selling the Nation of Islam newspaper in 1998.
On Friday, McDaniel called on the DNC chairman to take action.
"Keith Ellison’s long pattern of lies about his ongoing relationship with Louis Farrakhan, who the Anti-Defamation League calls ‘America’s leading anti-Semite,’ has put a stain on the Democrat Party," McDaniel said in a statement. "Anti-Semitism has no place in American politics, Tom Perez must address this issue."
As chairman and vice chairman, Perez and Ellison work closely together in an effort to grow the Democratic Party. The two were made party leaders together after the 2016 election to restore stability to the party, but they have continued to suffer from poor fundraising.