GOP files ethics complaint against Minnesota Senate president over conflict of interest concerns

Minnesota Senate President Bobby Joe Champion violated the chamber’s rules when he helped steer state funds to a former legal client, Senate GOP lawmakers allege in an ethics complaint filed Friday.

Champion, who also works as a private attorney, has been under scrutiny for advocating that a violence prevention nonprofit receive millions of dollars in state funding in 2023, just months after he had represented the organization’s founder in court. The DFL senator, who represents north Minneapolis, did not disclose his relationship with the nonprofit’s leader.

In a statement announcing the complaint, Sen. Michael Kreun, R-Blaine, called it a “clear and deeply troubling case of a public official using their legislative position to potentially benefit their private legal clients.”

“With what we know, at a minimum this is a conflict of interest that warranted disclosure,” Kreun said. “At worst, it’s an abuse of public office for personal and professional gain.”

In a statement, Champion said he was aware of the complaint and noted he had voluntarily sought an advisory opinion from the Senate Subcommittee on Ethical Conduct.

Earlier this week, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy said there’s a “gray area” between what legislators understand about their own conflict of interest rules and what the public knows.

“I’ve experienced that myself as a legislator and I do think we should pay attention to that,” she said. “We all are here leading with our integrity, and when your integrity is challenged you want to make sure you’re on hard ground. I want to make sure that it’s the case for the Minnesota Senate and for the Legislature because it is important that Minnesotans have faith in our work.”

The ethics complaint requests that the Senate Subcommittee on Ethical Conduct review the matter, including whether Champion’s conduct violates Senate rules prohibiting actions that discredit the Senate or undermine public trust in government.

The complaint alleges that Champion used his elected position to advocate for and secure funding to benefit his legal clients, including the Rev. Jerry McAfee and affiliated nonprofit organizations Salem Inc. and 21 Days of Peace. The complaint includes bills and committee hearings led by Champion to secure state funding for organizations after representing those same entities in legal matters — a relationship that was never disclosed to the public until the Minnesota Reformer reported it last week.

Additional connections between Champion, his staff and nonprofits he’s sought state funding for have also emerged.

Champion was the chief sponsor of a 2023 bill that awarded $3 million to 21 Days of Peace, which is run by McAfee. Last month, Champion introduced a bill to award another $1 million to 21 Days of Peace. He testified in favor of the bill at a committee hearing last week — with McAfee sitting next to him — and again didn’t disclose their previous legal relationship.

The senator defended himself in a written statement Monday, saying “there was no potential conflict to disclose” on 21 Days of Peace. Champion said he provided “pro bono legal counsel” to McAfee and a separate nonprofit he ran called Salem Inc. to help them negotiate a resolution to a civil real estate foreclosure issue.

That work began in May 2022 and ended that October with a settlement agreement, Champion said. Final orders in the cases were issued in February and April 2023.

Before the report on Champion’s potential conflict of interest, he led the Senate subcommittee. He announced Monday that he would temporarily step down from his role as chair of the Senate ethics subcommittee and ask the panel to give an advisory opinion determining whether there was a conflict.

The Senate’s ethics subcommittee, which is evenly split between the two parties, has 30 days to act on the complaint. They could make a finding of no probable cause, defer proceedings or decide to launch an investigation.

Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, said because the Legislature is part time, there can be crossover between lawmakers’ work at the Capitol and their day jobs. He said there may be teachers voting on education bills or contractors voting on bonding. But Champion, he said, funneled money to a specific group he has ties to.

“We have some real concerns about that,” Johnson said.

Gov. Tim Walz said Wednesday that he thinks the Legislature should be subject to the Data Practices Act to make sure there “is accountability” when issues of possible conflict of interest arise.

“I think this would be a good time to subject themselves to the same requirements that every other agency, myself included, is,” Walz said.

Walz said he didn’t want to cast judgment on the Champion case but he said he’s “not comfortable” with the legislative practice of directly naming nonprofits to receive state funding in budget bills.

“Just the optics of impropriety is very clear,” Walz said, adding the agencies have the expertise in carrying out competitive grants, not the Legislature.