Rep. John Thompson's Lawyer Says He 'Challenges The Authenticity' Of Domestic Violence Police Reports

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- In a statement posted on social media Sunday, a lawyer representing Rep. John Thompson says Thompson "challenges the authenticity of the police reports" accusing the state representative of domestic violence.

Gov. Tim Walz and leaders from Minnesota's DFL and GOP parties called for Thompson's resignation Saturday after reports emerged of domestic assault allegations going as far back as 2003.

WCCO reporter David Schuman spoke Sunday with Thompson's attorney, Jordan Kushner, who said the allegations are false, and he suspects multiple police departments of doctoring reports involving his client from more than 10 years ago. He added that Thompson hasn't been found guilty on any domestic violence charges, and his client does not plan to resign. Kushner also took to Facebook Sunday to defend Thompson.

"The police reports are a product of the campaign to silence an American African man who speaks out against powerful and abusive interests, and not the product of any effort to uncover truth," Kushner wrote.

Thompson was charged with domestic assault twice in the 2000s in separate incidents, and both were reduced to disorderly conducts. He was not convicted of either charge. Police reports show additional allegations of domestic violence, but in those instances, charges were never filed.

Police reports WCCO obtained directly from the St. Paul and Eagan police departments detail women telling officers Thompson was being physically and verbally violent with them. One of the victims in the reports is Thompson's wife. She told officers in 2004 that he punched her face, threatened to kill her and her daughter, and choked her, saying, 'I'll choke you until you can't breathe anymore.' Some of the details in other police reports are highly specific, including one that claims Thompson grabbed a woman's neck and said, 'I'll choke you until your voice box stops.' It's unclear if the woman who told officers that is Thompson's wife.

Kushner says she doesn't remember making those allegations and doesn't believe she ever did. She also publicly expressed support for her husband this weekend, and said he will not be resigning. She had no comment when WCCO reached out to her.

Thompson has come under scrutiny following a July 4 traffic stop in St. Paul, which he claimed was for "driving while Black." Thompson showed a suspended Wisconsin driver's license during that stop, though he later resolved the issue and his driving privileges were reinstated.

The stop spurred questions about Thompson's residency, as the address listed on his July 4 ticket is in St. Paul, but not in his district.

Thompson was one of the leading voices for police reform following the death of his friend Philando Castile, who was shot and killed during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights in 2016.

Below is Kushner's full statement:

Mr. Thompson challenges the authenticity of the police reports that have been circulated to the press. Mr. Thompson and his wife -- the only person whom Mr. Thompson would have been with at the times of the incidents -- categorically deny that any of the inflammatory allegations (including but not limited to choking anyone or exposing himself) ever occurred. Mr. Thompson's wife further does not recall and does not believe she ever made such allegations. They have been together as a couple for more than twenty years, have worked through issues earlier in their relationship, and have a solid marriage. It is my understanding that the purported police reports were provided to reporters by persons associated with law enforcement groups. These are likely the same groups that have been constantly and vigorously waging a smear campaign against Mr. Thompson since his speech in Hugo, MN in August 2020 (11 months ago). If these police reports existed in their current form, it is unfathomable that the many people digging into Mr. Thompson's past would not have found those police reports before the November election much less during the ensuing months. The police reports are a product of the campaign to silence an American African man who speaks out against powerful and abusive interests, and not the product of any effort to uncover truth.