# Self-absolution *Concept: the pattern in which a body that should judge conduct instead pronounces it admirable and files that pronouncement as the record.* **Self-absolution** is a term carried in the project's corpus for a pattern in which "the body that should sit in judgment instead pronounces the conduct admirable and files the pronouncement as the record".[^1] The project's companion document *The Instrument No One Will Name* (18 June 2026) applies the term to how an accounting is produced. It directs the lens at the design of instruments and at the gap between gesture and delivery, "never any protected class, never the merits of any group's claim, never any individual's identity."[^2] The same document states that the pattern "has a documented origin and a name the corpus has carried for years".[^1] The material available to this article does not identify that origin. The record here establishes the term and its definition, not the history of its use.[^1] The document gives its reason for the concept as "narrow and practical": "An accounting reaches as far as the names it is willing to say." In its reading, a record that leaves out the instrument at the center of the State's federal exposure, while naming two of that instrument's officials, has chosen a conduct lane and left a structure lane empty.[^1] It describes itself as "not a legal filing and not legal advice", says it "returns no verdict", and applies the reading to both parties identically. It also treats the events underlying EO 26-05 as conceded and the allegations in the federal matters it cites as allegations for the courts.[^2] The project's catalogue files [[Minnesota]] state and municipal records under the self-absolution heading. It also files reports of the [[Office of the Legislative Auditor (Minnesota)]], congressional materials from [[House Oversight]], and South African truth-commission records.[^3][^10][^30][^34] The catalogue records each item's issuing body, type and location. It does not record their contents, so this article lists them without characterizing them. ## Catalogued sources ### Minnesota state and municipal records The catalogue places these items in a "Truth-genre / Truth-Council" chain of custody: - the operative text of Minn. Stat. §4.035 on the Revisor's site[^3] - a press release from the Office of the [[governor]][^4] - an agency entry in the Secretary of State's commissions-and-appointments register[^5] - a Minnesota court rule published by the Revisor[^6] The [[Minneapolis]] items include a document filed in the city's legislative system under the name *Truth and Reconciliation Working Group Final Recommendations*.[^7] A St. Paul City Council reparations legislative page is also listed.[^8] The catalogue adds an archived primary record held by the Internet Archive.[^9] ### Office of the Legislative Auditor The catalogue lists twenty documents from the Office of the Legislative Auditor as oversight findings under this heading. These include special-review reports and a program-evaluation report filed under the name Feeding Our Future, with a related special review.[^10][^11][^12] They also include a presentation to the Legislative Audit Commission dated 13 June 2024.[^13] Four financial-audit reports are listed.[^14][^15][^16][^17] So are program-evaluation reports posted under 1996, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2011 and 2018 paths.[^18][^19][^20][^21][^22][^23][^24] The remaining items are a program-evaluation report filed as *fairshare*,[^25] two special reviews filed as *markingson* and *humansubjects*,[^26][^27] the office's special-review reporting guide,[^28] and its program-evaluation index.[^29] ### House Oversight Committee The catalogue lists these congressional materials under the same heading: - a letter to the Minnesota Attorney General posted in December 2025[^30] - a subpoena document posted in January 2026[^31] - a release under Chairman Comer on Minnesota's social-services system[^32] - a release on a subcommittee hearing on fraud in federal programs[^33] ### South African truth-commission records As comparative truth-genre records, the catalogue lists: - the South African statute published as Act 34 of 1995[^34] - the Department of Justice's Truth and Reconciliation Commission site[^35] - a 1998 Commission media statement[^36] - an item in the Constitutional Court's collections[^37] ## In the Minnesota record ### What - The companion document defines the pattern as a judging body that pronounces the conduct before it admirable instead of sitting in judgment.[^1] ### Why - The document gives the concept's purpose as practical: an accounting reaches only as far as the names it will say.[^1] ### How - The document describes the mechanism as filing the pronouncement of admirability as the record.[^1] ## Notes [^1]: Minnesota wiki project, *The Instrument No One Will Name* (densified, 18 June 2026) — §2 definition of self-absolution, the statement of a "documented origin", and the conduct-lane/structure-lane reasoning (validated passage; no URL in pack). [^2]: Minnesota wiki project, *The Instrument No One Will Name* (densified, 18 June 2026) — method note: not a legal filing, no verdict, EO 26-05 events conceded, allegations for the courts, symmetric application (validated passage; no URL in pack). [^3]: Office of the Revisor of Statutes, *Minn. Stat. §4.035* — operative statutory text; catalogued under self-absolution. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/4.035 [^4]: Office of the Governor of Minnesota, *Press release id 1055-735583* — catalogued under self-absolution. https://mn.gov/governor/newsroom/press-releases/?id=1055-735583 [^5]: Minnesota Secretary of State, *Commissions and Appointments, Agency 398* — catalogued under self-absolution. https://commissionsandappointments.sos.mn.gov/Agency/Details/398 [^6]: Office of the Revisor of Statutes, *Minnesota court rule (ju, code id 2)* — catalogued under self-absolution. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/court_rules/ju/subtype/code/id/2/ [^7]: City of Minneapolis, *Truth and Reconciliation Working Group Final Recommendations* (LIMS RCA 32524) — catalogued under self-absolution. https://lims.minneapolismn.gov/Download/RCAV2/32524/Truth-and-Reconciliation-Working-Group-Final-Recommendations.pdf [^8]: City of Saint Paul, *City Council reparations legislative page* — catalogued under self-absolution. https://www.stpaul.gov/department/city-council/city-council-reparations-efforts/city-council-reparations-legislative-0 [^9]: Internet Archive, *reportofminnesot01minn* — archived primary record; catalogued under self-absolution. https://archive.org/details/reportofminnesot01minn [^10]: Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Special review (feedingourfuture.pdf)* — oversight finding; catalogued under self-absolution. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/sreview/feedingourfuture.pdf [^11]: Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Program evaluation (feedingourfuture.pdf)* — oversight finding; catalogued under self-absolution. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/ped/pedrep/feedingourfuture.pdf [^12]: Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Special review (fof.pdf)* — oversight finding; catalogued under self-absolution. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/sreview/fof.pdf [^13]: Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Legislative Audit Commission presentation* (13 June 2024) — catalogued under self-absolution. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/meeting/mm/mm_Auditor_LAC-20240613-mdefof-Presentation.pdf [^14]: Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Financial audit fad21-03* — catalogued under self-absolution. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/fad/pdf/fad21-03.pdf [^15]: Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Financial audit fad2601* — catalogued under self-absolution. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/fad/pdf/fad2601.pdf [^16]: Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Financial audit fad0124* — catalogued under self-absolution. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/fad/pdf/fad0124.pdf [^17]: Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Financial audit fad0724* — catalogued under self-absolution. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/fad/pdf/fad0724.pdf [^18]: Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Program evaluation summary (2000, 0004sum)* — catalogued under self-absolution. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/ped/2000/0004sum.htm [^19]: Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Program evaluation (0404all)* — catalogued under self-absolution. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/ped/access/0404all.htm [^20]: Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Program evaluation chapter 1 (9602ch1)* — catalogued under self-absolution. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/ped/pedrep/9602ch1.pdf [^21]: Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Program evaluation summary (2006, liqregsum)* — catalogued under self-absolution. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/ped/2006/liqregsum.htm [^22]: Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Program evaluation (2008, charter)* — catalogued under self-absolution. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/ped/2008/charter.htm [^23]: Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Program evaluation (2011, legacy)* — catalogued under self-absolution. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/ped/2011/legacy.htm [^24]: Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Program evaluation (2018, lcc)* — catalogued under self-absolution. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/ped/2018/lcc.htm [^25]: Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Program evaluation (fairshare)* — catalogued under self-absolution. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/ped/pedrep/fairshare.pdf [^26]: Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Special review (markingson)* — catalogued under self-absolution. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/sreview/markingson.pdf [^27]: Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Special review (humansubjects)* — catalogued under self-absolution. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/sreview/humansubjects.pdf [^28]: Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Special review reporting guide* — catalogued under self-absolution. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/sreview/reporting-guide.htm [^29]: Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Program Evaluation Division index* — catalogued under self-absolution. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/ped/ [^30]: U.S. House Committee on Oversight, *Letter to MN AG* (posted December 2025) — catalogued under self-absolution. https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Letter-to-MN-AG-120325-.pdf [^31]: U.S. House Committee on Oversight, *Ellison Subpoena* (posted January 2026) — catalogued under self-absolution. https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Ellison-Subpoena.pdf [^32]: U.S. House Committee on Oversight, *Release: Chairman Comer presses for solutions (Minnesota social services)* — catalogued under self-absolution. https://oversight.house.gov/release/chairman-comer-presses-for-solutions-after-massive-fraud-exposed-in-minnesotas-social-services-system/ [^33]: U.S. House Committee on Oversight, *Release: Subcommittee Chairman Sessions opens hearing on fraud in federal programs* — catalogued under self-absolution. https://oversight.house.gov/release/after-massive-fraud-exposed-in-minnesota-subcommittee-chairman-sessions-opens-hearing-on-curbing-fraud-in-federal-programs/ [^34]: Republic of South Africa, Department of Justice, *Act 34 of 1995* — source document; catalogued under self-absolution. https://www.justice.gov.za/legislation/acts/1995-034.pdf [^35]: Republic of South Africa, Department of Justice, *Truth and Reconciliation Commission site* — catalogued under self-absolution. https://www.justice.gov.za/trc/ [^36]: Truth and Reconciliation Commission (South Africa), *Media statement s981028a* (October 1998) — catalogued under self-absolution. https://www.justice.gov.za/trc/media/1998/9810/s981028a.htm [^37]: Constitutional Court of South Africa, *Collections item 20.500.12144/2136* — catalogued under self-absolution. https://collections.concourt.org.za/handle/20.500.12144/2136