No respect left to erode

It's amazing how some people continue to sully their own reputation as if they've got a surplus of goodwill. 

A judge has ordered Jennifer Carnahan, widow of the late U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn, to reimburse the congressman's family members for more than $20,000 that they spent on his medical expenses.

Faribault County District Judge Troy Timmerman on Wednesday ordered Carnahan to repay the family members for the medical care given to Hagedorn, who died in February 2022 after battling kidney cancer and COVID-19.

Carnahan said Thursday that she plans to appeal the decision and bring counter claims in district court.

Yeah, nothing like getting into a legal squabble with your late husband's family to further denigrate what is already a toxic reputation. 

Hagedorn's mother, stepfather and sister sued Carnahan in May, claiming that she failed to act on a promise to repay them for medical costs out of the death benefits she inherited after her husband's death.

While the family members contended in two lawsuits that the money was meant as a loan, Carnahan said she had interpreted it as a gift.

"It was never predicated on any promise of repayment from me at all," she said Thursday. "I was under the impression this whole time that they were gifting their brother and son money to live to fight another day, as I had done."

So Carnahan's assertion is that this has been a simple misunderstanding. However, when commenting on the lawsuit back in May, she never denied a repayment agreement existed. In fact, she implied that Hagedorn's estate being held up in probate was impeding her ability to make good with the alleged agreement. But since Carnahan would have been the beneficiary of her husband's life insurance policy (estimated at $175,000), she could have easily reimbursed Hagedorn's family upon those funds being distributed since life insurance proceeds are not subject to probate. To add to the already horrible optics, Carnahan loaned her failed U.S. House campaign (the one to fill out the remainder of her husband's Congressional term) $200,000 just prior to the lawsuit against her having been filed. Then literally the day after the May 24 GOP primary, Carnahan hopped a flight for a vacation at a fancy resort in Newport Beach, CA. 

Between this saga and her suit against the Republican Party of Minnesota, Carnahan has made herself radioactive in any endeavors going forth. She probably realizes this, which is the reason she seems to be implementing her own scorched earth strategy. 

If Carnahan could sue someone for her self-destructive tendencies, she'd probably do so.

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