“A woman says Sen. Al Franken inappropriately touched her in 2010, telling CNN that he grabbed her buttocks while taking a photo at the Minnesota State Fair.”
“It is the first allegation of improper touching by Franken, who is a Democrat, while he was in office. It comes just days after Leeann Tweeden, a local radio news anchor in California, said that Franken forcibly kissed and groped her in 2006, when Franken was a comedian.”
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“Hillary Clinton slammed President Trump and Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore over their alleged sexual misconduct, criticizing them for not ‘accepting responsibility’ and ‘apologizing’ for their reported transgressions as Sen. Al Franken did,” Politico reports.
“Clinton said that Franken, who was accused this week of groping a female broadcaster in 2006, acted responsibly by owning up to his actions and publicly apologizing for them — a far cry from the response given by Trump and Moore.”
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The White House defended President Trump’s attack on Sen. Al Franken’s sexual misconduct by saying the allegations against Franken were very different from accusations against Trump, USA Today reports.
Said White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders: “Specifically, Sen. Franken has admitted wrongdoing and the president hasn’t. That’s a very clear distinction.”
Eight of Sen. Al Franken’s (D-MN) former female staffers issued a statement to the Minneapolis Star Tribune saying Franken treated them “with the utmost respect” and “was a champion for women both in the legislation he supported and in promoting women to leadership roles in our offices.”
Republican political operative Roger Stone told the Daily Caller hours before the news broke that a news anchor would accuse Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) of sexual assault.
Said Stone: “Let’s just say Sen. Franken’s time in the barrel is about to come.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) called for investigation into sexual harassment allegations against Sen. Al Franken (D-MN), Roll Call reports.
Said McConnell: “As with all credible allegations of sexual harassment or assault, I believe the Ethics Committee should review the matter. I hope the Democratic Leader will join me on this. Regardless of party, harassment and assault are completely unacceptable — in the workplace or anywhere else.”
Leeann Tweeden writes that she was kissed and groped by Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) on a USO Tour in 2006.
He repeated that actors really need to rehearse everything and that we must practice the kiss. I said ‘OK’ so he would stop badgering me. We did the line leading up to the kiss and then he came at me, put his hand on the back of my head, mashed his lips against mine and aggressively stuck his tongue in my mouth.
I immediately pushed him away with both of my hands against his chest and told him if he ever did that to me again I wouldn’t be so nice about it the next time.
I walked away. All I could think about was getting to a bathroom as fast as possible to rinse the taste of him out of my mouth.
Franken responds: “I certainly don’t remember the rehearsal for the skit in the same way, but I send my sincerest apologies to Leeann. As to the photo, it was clearly intended to be funny but wasn’t. I shouldn’t have done it.”
“Political associates of Al Franken say they believe the Minnesota senator could be talked into running for the White House if he believes he’s the Democrat best positioned to defeat President Trump,” The Hill reports.
“But they say Franken would need to be convinced, and argue that the former Saturday Night Live star would be reluctant to enter a battle with dozens of other Democrats in what’s increasingly expected to be a wide-open race for party’s nomination.”
Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) joined Chris Riback on the latest episode of Political Wire Conversations. It’s a really fun conversation.
Franken is also author of an excellent new book, Giant of the Senate.
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Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) asked then-FBI Director James Comey to investigate Attorney General Jeff Sessions, “amid concerns that he may have had an additional meeting with the Russian ambassador the United States, Sergey Kislyak,” CNN reports.
Said the letter: “We are concerned about Attorney General Sessions’ lack of candor to the committee and his failure thus far to accept responsibility for testimony that could be construed as perjury.”
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) called Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) “obnoxious and insulting” for devoting an entire chapter to the Texas GOP senator in Franken’s new book titled Giant of the Senate, according to Politico.
Said Cruz: “Al is trying to sell books and apparently he’s decided that being obnoxious and insulting me is good for causing liberals to buy his books. I wish him all the best.”
“Yeah, I’m not going to do that.”
— Sen. Al Franken (D-MN), in an interview with People, on running for president in 2020.
Out next week: Al Franken, Giant of the Senate by Al Franken.
“I like Ted Cruz probably more than my colleagues like Ted Cruz, and I hate Ted Cruz.”
— Sen. Al Franken (D-MN), in an interview with USA Today.
Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) told CNN that he now believes that Attorney General Jeff Sessions committed perjury during his confirmation hearing when he did not disclose meetings with a Russian ambassador.
Said Franken: “It’s hard to come to any other conclusion than he just perjured himself.”
“We don’t know what the Russians have on Donald Trump. And we need — and we need to see, if anything — we need to see his tax returns.”
— Sen. Al Franken (D-MN), quoted by ABC News.
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Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.