Al Franken to Resign in Wake of Sex Scandal Allegations

Minnesota Senator Al Franken (D) announced that he will resign his office in the coming weeks in the face of allegations of sexual abuse and harassment by a number of women. (Watch the speech here.) Franken is currently under investigation by the Senate Ethics Committee for alleged sexual misconduct.

Since the first allegation of sexual misconduct in mid-November, multiple women have come forward with accusations against the senator. In the Atlantic on December 6, prominent liberal journalist Tina Dupuy said Franken groped her in 2009 at a Media Matters for America (MMfA) party during President Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration:

We posed for the [camera] shot. He immediately put his hand on my waist, grabbing a handful of flesh. I froze. Then he squeezed. At least twice.

. . .

Al Franken’s familiarity was inappropriate and unwanted. It was also quick; he knew exactly what he was doing.

(MMfA is a left-wing 501(c)(3) organization created by conservative-turned-liberal activist David Brock. It positions itself as a fact-checker on conservative inaccuracies and bias; in practice, though, MMfA frequently criticizes conservative commentators’ opinions in what Brock has called a campaign of “guerrilla warfare and sabotage” aimed primarily at Fox News.)

“It shrunk me,” Dupuy said. “It’s like I was no longer a person, only ornamental. It said, ‘You don’t matter—and I do.’ He wanted to cop a feel and he demonstrated he didn’t need my permission.”

In his announcement, Franken claims to be a supporter of women’s rights. A position paper on his Senate (see document here) website claims Franken is “fighting for women in Minnesota and across the nation”:

One of Senator Franken’s top priorities has been to ensure that women in Minnesota and across the country can count on access to quality health care, fair treatment in the workplace, and a life free from domestic and sexual violence. He has developed an impressive legislative record on women’s issues, and continues to fight for legislation that will help women nationwide. [Emphasis added]

Franken’s website also says he is listed as one of the “Lawmakers Making a Difference” by the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN), and he’s received the AWARE by the Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault for “for giving a voice to these most silent of victims.”

It’s a classic case of what CRC president Scott Walter calls “charity-washing” – masking misdeeds behind a façade of “good deeds.” See our latest series, Hypocrisy, Thy Name is Hollywood, on how cynical elites in the entertainment industry—like former actor Al Franken—charity-wash themselves with progressive causes.

While Franken denies the allegations of sexual misconduct are true, his decision to resign suggests the senator’s history with various women is less than pristine. On November 17, radio news anchor Leeann Tweeden accused Franken of “forcibly kissing and groping her” in December 2006, pointing to a lewd photograph of the then-Saturday Night Live cast member, Franken, making a cupping gesture towards Tweeden’s breasts.

Image credit: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/sen-al-franken-accused-forcibly-kissing-groping-woman-n821381

Franken insisted in his announcement that “some of the allegations against me simply aren’t true. Others I remember very differently.” Nevertheless, a majority of Senate Democrats have called for his resignation in the wake of the scandals.