歪歪漫画

ST. PAUL 鈥� A Minnesota senator facing a burglary charge may also have to worry about what the military will do.

Sen. Nicole Mitchell, DFL-Woodbury, was charged with first-degree burglary earlier this week after allegedly breaking into her stepmother's Detroit Lakes home to retrieve several items after her father's death. While the Senate debated and ultimately chose not to investigate her this week in response to an ethics complaint by Republicans, her service in the Air National Guard may present something Mitchell also has to contend with.

Mitchell, a could face punishment from the military, even if she is not convicted.

"Ultimately, whatever happens, if anything is going to come down to her, her commander, which is essentially her boss on the military side of things, can take action," said Minnesota-based defense attorney Chris Keyser. Keyser is a major in the Army Reserves and has been a judge advocate, or military lawyer, for the past 14 years.

While the military could take action before a conviction, Keyser said that is unlikely because usually the military likes to wait until a civilian court case is finalized.

Mitchell currently faces a felony charge, though a plea deal could lead to a lesser charge.

"If she was convicted of (the felony), then I don't see realistically how she would stay in the military," Keyser said. "Her chain of command would remove her with a felony conviction."

The decision boils down to whether the military wishes to retain Mitchell, a 32-year veteran, or if they decide to cut ties and force her out.

"There's a lot of leeway that the commander has," Keyser said.

File photo special to the Forum

The military may also launch its own investigation, though Keyser said that is also unlikely because the incident in question is not alleged to have happened while Mitchell was performing her military job duties.

"I think that there's this knee-jerk reaction that people think if there's a criminal charge on the civilian side of things, that there's automatically going to be some sort of punishment on the military side. And that's, of course, also not true," he said.

During her time in the military, Mitchell worked as a a unit that performs reconnaissance missions into tropical weather to find evidence of building hurricanes. She has flown into hurricanes Charley, Wilma, Harvey and Katrina.

In addition to separation from the military, Keyser also outlined several other possible military sanctions for Mitchell, including:

• General Officer Memorandum of Record. This is a tool used to deter misconduct among military members. It is a letter of reprimand from a commanding officer and is
• Revoke security clearances. Officers in the military are required to have a security clearance. With her criminal charge, Mitchell's unit may make an administrative notation that it is aware of her criminal case and may revisit her security clearance if convicted.
• Court martial. While unlikely due to Mitchell's reserve status, the military has stepped in to prosecute officers for theft, including an "Usually they just won't do that from a resource perspective," Keyser said.
• Administrative punishment. Referred to in the military as nonjudicial punishment or Article 15, it resembles a mini-trial that involves the service member and their commander. The accused puts up a defense, and the commander, acting as a judge, decides whether the service member is guilty and assigns a punishment such as reduction of rank, extra duty, fines or pay cuts. "It's a way to impose some form of punishment upon a service member without having to go through a full court proceeding," Keyser said.

On the political side, an on Wednesday requested that the Subcommittee on Ethical Complaints investigate the matter.

Mitchell barely escaped that investigation following a 33-33 vote from her colleagues. DFL party leaders have been mostly tight-lipped about Mitchell's pending charges, instead requesting that her case play out in court before the Senate makes any further decisions. Mitchell was not present on the Senate floor and did not vote.

鈥淭he allegations against Sen. Mitchell are upsetting, for me and for anyone who has gotten to know and work with her," Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St.Paul, said in a statement. "The behavior alleged is far outside the character she has established in the Senate and in her distinguished career in the military. We believe in due process, and Sen. Mitchell has the right to a full defense of her case in court. In the coming days and weeks, Sen. Mitchell must also have serious and difficult conversations with her colleagues, constituents and family.鈥�

Republicans have come down hard on Mitchell and the lack of DFL movement regarding her charges.

鈥淭his is not something we take lightly,鈥� Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, said in a statement. 鈥淕iven the lack of action by Senate Democrats to acknowledge the severity of Sen. Mitchell鈥檚 actions, we are compelled to protect the integrity of the work we do here, and to preserve the reputation of the Legislature."

Several Republicans, including Rep. Jim Joy, R-Hawley, have asked Mitchell to resign.

Joy, who represents the district where Mitchell was arrested and the alleged burglary took place, called the alleged conduct deeply troubling.

"For this serious crime to be perpetrated by a fellow legislator against one of my constituents is appalling," Joy wrote in an email to constituents. "It is clearly time for Senator Mitchell to resign, put family over politics and focus on helping her family as she faces these felony charges."

Contributed

On the criminal justice side, Mitchell denied the allegations in a Facebook post that has since been deleted or made private. In it, she said she learned medical information that prompted her to check on a family member, which led to a misunderstanding.

She made her first appearance in a Becker County courtroom on Tuesday and was released on her own recognizance. Her next court hearing is scheduled for June 10.

The Wisconsin Air National Guard declined to comment for this story, citing the ongoing criminal investigation.

Contributed / Facebook screenshot