Hoffman deletes Twitter account (UPDATE) [UPDATED]

Published 11:18am Thursday, June 16, 2011 Updated 11:11am Friday, June 17, 2011
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Click here for a PDF of Hoffman’s letter

UPDATE: Hoffman has since apologized to Goodwin and has created a new Twitter account with a link to the ethics committee’s ruling on this matter.

Senator Gretchen Hoffman’s out-of-context Twitter posting is gone.

So is her entire Twitter account.

Hoffman’s Twitter account was deleted on Wednesday afternoon, two days after the state Senate’s ethics subcommittee told her to apologize for a May 18 “tweet” in which she accused Senator Barb Goodwin of calling people with mental illness “idiots and imbeciles” on the Senate floor. Goodwin was in fact talking about the poor way in which people with mental illness used to be treated.

In a way, the deletion of Hoffman’s account is compliant with one part of the ethics committee’s ruling, which told her to take down the offending tweet. However, the deletion of her account also means that Hoffman can’t post a tweet recognizing the committee’s finding that she was wrong in the incident, which was another requirement. Hoffman’s tweet also still exists as a news post on her campaign website.

She must also send Goodwin a written apology.

“I just don’t understand this at all. It would just be so easy to get rid of this and put it all behind her,” said Goodwin, who added that she has not received any sort of apology from Hoffman as of this morning. “I would love to have a resolution.”

Goodwin added that Hoffman was fortunate that the committee said it will drop the ethics complaint if Hoffman abides by the committee’s request. Usually, the complaint is considered “resolved” but left on a lawmaker’s record.

“I don’t know what the committee’s going to do if she doesn’t abide by (committee requirements),” she said. “I’ve never heard of anybody not abiding by the ethics (ruling).”

Neither Hoffman nor ethics subcommittee members could be reached for comment today.

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Comments
  1. June 16, 2011 at 11:52 am <Link>

    this is because, unlike Weiner for instance, Republicans don’t apologize or admit to doing wrong.
    despite their easily proven record.

  2. David Lindberg June 16, 2011 at 11:52 am <Link>

    1+1+1=3
    3 Articles in 2 days all attacking Senator Hoffman!
    Starting to look like a witch hunt to me, sorry if I don’t join in ever bodies enthusiasm over a petty issue but really, oh my god Senator Hoffman pulled her twitter account before issuing an apology. If the apology had come first would the headline read, apology issued but twitter account still active? Also would Senator Goodman be just as concerned with Senator Hoffman not pulling her twitter account? Is this the kind of hard hitting journalism that the journal wants to be known for? Like I said looks like a witch hunt to me! Sad day for Fergus Falls and Ottertail County when our newspaper could be called, or referred to as the Salem Journal!

  3. June 16, 2011 at 11:55 am <Link>

    as is usually the case, it’s pointless to offer criminals an easy solution to make amends for their obvious wrongs, I say it’s time to escalate the ethics violation claims.
    the deletion of her twitter should be viewed as an attempt to destroy evidence, as is obviously the case when we already have her automatons posting and denying it ever occurred.

  4. David Lindberg June 16, 2011 at 12:00 pm <Link>

    Unfortunately as history has shown us some people won’t be satisfied until we burn somebody at the stake!

  5. David Lindberg June 16, 2011 at 12:17 pm <Link>

    Let me repeat, if I were a prosecutor I would simply reply, “I rest my case!”

  6. John Magnuson June 16, 2011 at 12:29 pm <Link>

    The comment Hoffman made originally was out of line. A jury of her peers, in this case the ethics committee has decided that she was out of line and handed down a very light slap on the wrist for a minor offense. Instead of taking the moral high ground and immediately complying with the ruling Ms. Hoffman has decided to go this route.

    The reason this continues to be in the news is because Ms. Hoffman has neglected to do as she has been required to do. We all know if she had just followed the ruling the story would have disappeared off into the sunset within a couple days. Ms. Hoffman is causing this ridiculous situation to continue. Newspapers will stop writing about it when it isn’t interesting anymore.

  7. David Lindberg June 16, 2011 at 12:36 pm <Link>

    So taking down her twitter account is not following the ruling? Just because an apology did not come immediately does not mean it is not coming. Would that not be following the ruling of the ethics committee? Please like I said, some people won’t be happy until we burn somebody at the stake!

  8. Dave Adams June 16, 2011 at 12:54 pm <Link>

    Again, Ms. Goodwin continues to whine and the Daily Journal is more interested in her unresolved whining than anything else.

  9. William Schulz June 16, 2011 at 2:02 pm <Link>

    Baloney journalism at its worst. The article is slanted to create the message that Senator Hoffman is deliberately in defiance of the committee’s decision. Has the Journal contacted the Senator for comment? Perhaps the Sentor is seeking clarification of the order, perhaps she has initiated a private contact with the “offended” Senator Goodwin? Does the committee ruling demand that Hoffman act within a certain time frame, or is the timing for the apology more open ended than the Daily Journal is willing to accept? The paper is well known as a Democratic party controlled outlet, and no doubt has received the same instructions from DFL central as the other propaganda venues for the DFL. This article presumes to read the mind of Senator Hoffman, assume that her actions and intentions are evil, and then present their assumptions as matters of fact. And the packs of DFL supporters are just waiting for any chance to pounce and dump their bile and vitriol. Note to the web administrator, on other articles re this matter some of the frequent DFL attackers have used language such as Republican swine. Would you warn me and remove my comments if I used such comments about DFL, making vicious personal attacks for which you seem eager to enforce against conservative participants? If you are going to hold conservatives to standards, you ought to at least attempt to pretend you impartially enforce your rules. You may be new to the journalistic trade, but surely you have heard of reportorial balance, showing all sides of an issue, rather than using your press platform to further your own political prejudices. Too bad you have so callously and delibertely savaged any pretense at professionalism in your article here.

  10. William Schulz June 16, 2011 at 2:14 pm <Link>

    Further , your determination to defame Gretchen is so obvious that I fully expect that you will soon report that Senator Hoffman was seen with others in a restaurant, smiling, joking, laughing and enjoying the company of her friends, and demanding to know why she is not dressed in sackcloth and covered with ashes, hiding in a cellar from the shame she feels for criticizing a Democrat senator? You are digging yourself into a deeper hole with every snarky dig you throw at her, and if what I hear from people in the restaurants and supermarkets are any indication, you should expect to lose more subscribers for your relentless suppression of the elements of this story which , if added to your slanted attacks, would show a different story than the witch hunting pieces you have attempted to pass off as “news”.

  11. John Anderson June 16, 2011 at 3:14 pm <Link>

    Other news sources are now reporting that Hoffman’s attorney has said that an apology letter has been written and will be sent.

  12. June 16, 2011 at 7:06 pm <Link>

    Hoffman has issued her apology. I consider this issue to be at an end. We can now get back to blaming Governor Dayton for every problem in Minnesota since Snelling paddled up the Mississippi and finding conspiracies between the FFDJ and the DFL to overthrow the government and deny freedom, justice, liberty and equality to all Republicans in Ottertail County.

  13. Margie Johnson June 16, 2011 at 10:47 pm <Link>

    This apology is basically worthless. Even though the original twitter account is gone, her post is still on both her Facebook page, and her state webpage. What Ms. Hoffman did is little different than cyber-bullying, a topic I know well as a school administrator/counselor. She has not set a very good example for her constituents.

  14. William Schulz June 16, 2011 at 11:25 pm <Link>

    And at least Gretchen Hoffman is not going to attempt to define what the meaning of “is” is.

  15. June 17, 2011 at 2:08 am <Link>

    no dead horse here, Gretchen Hoffman is a documented proven LIAR! and not just about inconsequential issues, she lied on the job about a state proceeding.
    she should step down!

  16. June 17, 2011 at 2:14 am <Link>

    as for Anthony Weiner’s shenanigans, first of all He didn’t lie about anything of substance to You or I, He lied about his personal affairs which cause no harm to you and quite frankly are his own “private” matters.
    despite the fact that it’s none of your concern if consenting adults chose to exchange lewd photos, or even end their marriage, at least I assume the elected are still entitled to chose their own mates? Weiner never lied to us about matters of state.
    that’s the major difference between the DFL and GOP.
    the DFL lies about harmless private affairs that have no affect on their ability to perform the job they were elected to do, while the GOP lies about the job they were elected to perform.
    that and of course, Weiner came clean and apologized, and even stepped down from his position.

  17. David Lindberg June 17, 2011 at 11:01 am <Link>

    Even now that the apology has come on the same day that the twitter account was pulled it still is not enough for some people. A simple misunderstanding regardless of where you are is still a simple misunderstanding. Furthermore Senator Hoffman tried to offer an apology right there on the senate floor. Nope there was hay to be made, and now that an apology has been issued it still is not enough. Please this whole matter has been blown out of context, tried in a kangaroo court of public discourse, and finally false portrayed to distract us from the facts. I think Bill is right outside of Senator Hoffman committing hari-kari or being burnt at the stake the angry DFL won’t be happy. This has served as a perfect example of how twisted and angry the rhetoric can get from people who have an agenda and have no conscious except to move an agenda forward, and another reason why I rarely ever comment on “I would like to say is a news articles but I think stories is more appropriate in this matter” stories. I am glad the whole matter is finished and we can now turn our attention to why a judge that I never voted for, in Ramsey County is now deciding where my tax dollars are going to be spent.

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