"Senator Al Franken Accused of Groping a Woman in 2006"

[Guest]

Since I posted the previous Moore thread, I would feel a little hypocritical not putting this one out there.

WASHINGTON — A growing national outcry over sexual harassment reached the Senate on Thursday, when a radio newscaster accused Al Franken, Democrat of Minnesota, of kissing and groping her without consent during a 2006 U.S.O. tour of the Middle East before he took public office.

Mr. Franken almost immediately released an apology to the newscaster, Leeann Tweeden, who said that Mr. Franken forcibly kissed her during a rehearsal and groped her for a photo as she slept.

“I certainly don’t remember the rehearsal for the skit in the same way, but I send my sincerest apologies to Leeann,” Mr. Franken, who has been mentioned as a possible presidential candidate, said in a statement. “As to the photo, it was clearly intended to be funny but wasn’t. I shouldn’t have done it.”

Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, wasted no time before forwarding the matter to the Senate Ethics Committee.

“As with all credible allegations of sexual harassment or assault, I believe the Ethics Committee should review the matter,” he said in a statement. “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.”

Ms. Tweeden published a first-person account of the incident on KABC Radio in Los Angeles on Thursday. She wrote that it occurred in December 2006, not long before Christmas, when she was a performer for the tour alongside Mr. Franken, then a well-known comedian.

[_Jersey Girl]

Can I just show you how AOL is running this story? Here's the caption on their link to the story.

Gruesome details on the alleged assault

Gruesome?

[_Xenophon]

Can I just show you how AOL is running this story? Here's the caption on their link to the story.

Gruesome details on the alleged assault

Gruesome?

Out of curiosity, is this similar to their headlines about Moore, Weinstein, Spacey, etc? That looks to mostly be about generating clicks and not their actual take on the story.

I'll be interested to see if a wave of accusers comes out for Franken as well, as we have seen with the other sexual assaults reported. The pattern seems to be that one comes forward than others follow suit, typically some of the later reports are worse than the first one shared. Don't get me wrong, the current accusations seem highly credible and are probably more than enough for him to be asked to resign by Schumer.

Given that the Democrat Governor gets to appoint a replacement and that they would probably win the seat in 2020 I don't know why DNC wouldn't ask Franken to step away.

[_The CCC]

Here is his apology.
SEE https://www.democraticunderground.com/10029850239

[_Maxine Waters]

Thanks for the post. This is the first name I've heard given. CNN was withholding the names of the other Congressmen accused of sexual harassment because the allegations were not yet substantiated. I wonder why the Washington Post doesn't hold a similar stance with Judge Roy Moore. Isn't it kind of amazing that this guy was in politics and served as a judge his whole life and this 40 year old incident was never mentioned before?

[Guest]

It really bothers me when people objectify women. Grrrr.

edited because someone said this isn't safe for work. I don't know. It's a picture of Ms. Tweeden being objectified by men. SO MAD RIGHT NOW.

https://preview.ibb.co/jWSH7m/leeann_tw ... 7_lovb.jpg

- Doc

[_The CCC]

Thanks for the post. This is the first name I've heard given. CNN was withholding the names of the other Congressmen accused of sexual harassment because the allegations were not yet substantiated. I wonder why the Washington Post doesn't hold a similar stance with Judge Roy Moore. Isn't it kind of amazing that this guy was in politics and served as a judge his whole life and this 40 year old incident was never mentioned before?

The answer is real simple. Women fear the public exposure they have and will face.
IE; A Canadian Muslim would rape her when she was 14. She's a slut, she's in it for the money, it was because what she was wearing, it's all political, etc., etc., etc..

[_subgenius]

[_Xenophon]

Thanks for the post. This is the first name I've heard given. CNN was withholding the names of the other Congressmen accused of sexual harassment because the allegations were not yet substantiated. I wonder why the Washington Post doesn't hold a similar stance with Judge Roy Moore. Isn't it kind of amazing that this guy was in politics and served as a judge his whole life and this 40 year old incident was never mentioned before?

Just out of curiosity, do you see any marked difference in Franken's response over Moore's? Do you think Franken suggesting that even if he disagrees with how events unfolded the accuser deserves to be heard and an investigation should be held is better or worse than Moore calling it a "witch hunt", lying about whether he knew the accusers or not and threatening to sue? Do you think it impossible for someone to withhold an accusation for an extended period of time and if so, what is the cut-off for when they can no longer make an accusation?

Do you seriously not give any credence to Washington Post having 4 accusers and countless other back-up testimonies before publishing their story on Moore? Hell, even Hannity has given up on supporting Moore.

[_Some Schmo]

I'll be interested to see if a wave of accusers comes out for Franken as well, as we have seen with the other sexual assaults reported. The pattern seems to be that one comes forward than others follow suit, typically some of the later reports are worse than the first one shared. Don't get me wrong, the current accusations seem highly credible and are probably more than enough for him to be asked to resign by Schumer.

Yeah, I'm withholding judgment on the story until we get some corroborating testimony. The description of the kiss is eerily similar to one given by one of Moore's victims. If other women start coming forward about Franken, it would be more than a he said, she said. Not saying it didn't happen, but it doesn't have the same weight as other allegations we've seen lately.

The picture was definitely bad taste, though (and I'm not sure he's actually touching her in that photo).