Next Tuesday's special election primary in Minnesota's First Congressional District can't come soon enough. One GOP candidate in particular needs to be retired from ever running for anything again.
Family members of the late U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn are suing his widow, Jennifer Carnahan, to recoup medical expenses related to treatments he received in Arizona before his death.
Two lawsuits filed in district court Monday by Hagedorn's mother, stepfather and sister allege they helped pay for cancer treatments he received at Envita Medical Centers after he was told he had exhausted his options at Mayo Clinic in Rochester.
If those treatments weren't successful, Carnahan made a "clear and definite promise" to use the inheritance she was to receive after his death to reimburse his family members, according to both lawsuits.
Carnahan has yet to deny that such a promise was made. But her attempts to explain her lack of accountability were (to be charitable) met with skepticism.
Carnahan, who is running to replace her husband in Congress, said in a statement that her husband's estate is required to go through the probate process in the courts to "determine the disposition of assets in accordance with Minnesota law."
"There is nothing further we are allowed to do at this time," she added. "I wish Jim's family well and know this time has been very difficult for all of us."
I have been reliably informed by an acquaintance who is a family law attorney that life insurance proceeds do not go through probate. Given the safe assumption that Carnahan was the beneficiary of her husband's $174,000 life insurance policy, she likely received those funds very soon after Hagedorn's passing.
So while Carnahan has apparently stiffed her husband's family by not fulfilling her obligation to them, she somehow has the wherewithal to generously fund her Congressional campaign.
UPDATE: Carnahan's recent campaign finance report shows she loaned her campaign $200K. But according to the lawsuit, she hasn't repaid Hagedorn's family for his cancer treatment. If true, she lent her campaign money before paying for cancer treatments -> https://t.co/vF05Awgmzo pic.twitter.com/zMicqrWpuG
— Michael Brodkorb (@mbrodkorb) May 18, 2022
The date of that $200K loan to her campaign (not including another $27,500 worth of loans made over the past week) was May 4, which is 2-1/2 months after her husband passed. So there's little doubt she received the $174,000 life insurance payout by that point, of which a payment of less than $15,000 to Hagedorn's family would have settled the matter. In short, Carnahan prioritized what is likely to be a failed Congressional run over a promise made to her late husband's family.
With ten Republicans competing in Tuesday's primary, it would be an utter disgrace at this point if Carnahan breaks 10% of the vote.
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