Woman says Franken groped, kissed her without consent in 2006

[Gandalf]

(CNN)A female radio news anchor said Thursday that Minnesota Democratic Sen. Al Franken groped and "forcibly kissed" her without her consent during an overseas USO tour in 2006, two years before Franken was elected to the Senate.

The revelations have prompted Franken to apologize and ignited calls for a Senate ethics investigation into Franken's behavior.

Leeann Tweeden is now a morning news anchor on TalkRadio 790 KABC in Los Angeles and posted her story in a lengthy post on the station's website.

"You knew exactly what you were doing," Tweeden wrote. "You forcibly kissed me without my consent, grabbed my breasts while I was sleeping and had someone take a photo of you doing it, knowing I would see it later, and be ashamed."

The revelations come amid a growing national furor over sexual harassment and misconduct, including a remarkable House hearing earlier this week in which lawmakers addressed what they described as a rampant sexual harassment problem on Capitol Hill.

Republican campaign arms have already tied Democratic candidates to Franken, but members of Congress have largely agreed to leave the allegations to a committee investigation. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have each called on the Senate ethics committee to review Tweeden's account against Franken. Franken has said he would cooperate with an investigation.

Sources briefed on the matter say that Franken was emotional and upset as he apologized to staff Thursday. Franken skipped all Senate votes and the Democratic lunches, where he would have interacted with colleagues. He has not, sources say, spoken to most of them.

What happened in December 2006

n her post, Tweeden says the harassment occurred as the two rehearsed for a USO skit written by Franken in which he was supposed to kiss her. She writes that Franken repeatedly insisted they rehearse the kissing scene despite her protests. When she relented, she says, Franken "put his hand on the back of my head, mashed his lips against mine and aggressively stuck his tongue in my mouth."

"Senator Franken, you wrote the script," Tweeden wrote. "But there's nothing funny about sexual assault."

She also included a photo in which Franken appears to grab her breast while she's asleep.

"I couldn't believe it. He groped me, without my consent, while I was asleep," Tweeden writes. "I felt violated all over again. Embarrassed. Belittled. Humiliated."

Franken apologizes twice

In a statement to reporters, Franken said he doesn't remember the forced kissing, but that said he shouldn't have behaved the way he did in the photo.

"I certainly don't remember the rehearsal for the skit in the same way, but I send my sincerest apologies to Leeann," Franken said. "As to the photo, it was clearly intended to be funny but wasn't. I shouldn't have done it."

Franken released a longer statement several hours after his initial one, where he delivered a lengthier apology and said he "didn't know what" had been in his head when he took the actions in the photo.

"The first thing I want to do is apologize: to Leeann, to everyone else who was part of that tour, to everyone who has worked for me, to everyone I represent, and to everyone who counts on me to be an ally and supporter and champion of women. There's more I want to say, but the first and most important thing—and if it's the only thing you care to hear, that's fine — is: I'm sorry," Franken said in the emailed statement.

He continued, "I respect women. I don't respect men who don't. And the fact that my own actions have given people a good reason to doubt that makes me feel ashamed."

Franken continued to say he didn't remember the exact actions of the rehearsal skit, but added, "I understand why we need to listen to and believe women's experiences."

Tweeden: 'There's no reason why I shouldn't accept his apology'

At a news conference, Tweeden was asked if she accepted Franken's apology.

"There's no reason why I shouldn't accept his apology," she said. "I wasn't looking for anything."

Tweeden also recounted her 2006 encounter with Franken during the news conference, describing in detail the moment in which Franken kissed her.
She said he stuck his tongue in her mouth "so fast."

"All I could remember is that his lips were really wet and it was slimy. In my mind I called him fish lips the rest of the trip because that's what it reminded me of," she said.

Tweeden said she "pushed" Franken off, and that she almost punched him.

"I pushed him off with my hands, I just remember I almost punched him ... Every time I see him now, my hands clench into fists," she said.

After the incident, which Tweeden said she did not report at the time, she said she made sure she was never alone with Franken again.

Asked whether she believes Franken should step down, Tweeden said that "people make mistakes."

"I'm not calling on him to step down," she said. "That's not my place." However, she added that her opinion may change if other women come forward with similar allegations.

Tweeden did not report Franken's behavior, and the USO released a statement saying that it had never been reported to the group.

"We have no knowledge of it," Ashley McLellan, a spokesperson for the USO, told CNN. "The report is deeply disturbing and does not reflect the values of the USO."

Congress confronts harassment and misconduct among its own

The comments about Franken come at a time when Congress is conducting a review of its policy for addressing sexual harassment and how it handles complaints. The House held a hearing on the issue earlier this week, and both chambers now will require sexual harassment training. The changes to Capitol Hill follow the ground-shaking allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct that have swept industries, organizations and institutions worldwide.

Franken acknowledged that cultural change in his revised statement.

"Over the last few months, all of us — including and especially men who respect women — have been forced to take a good, hard look at our own actions and think (perhaps, shamefully, for the first time) about how those actions have affected women," Franken said.

Tweeden said she's coming forward now after hearing testimony from women -- including California Democratic Rep. Jackie Speier -- who have shared similar stories of men in power who have committed sexual harassment and sexual assault.

"I want to have the same effect on them that Congresswoman Jackie Speier had on me," Tweeden wrote. "I want them, and all the other victims of sexual assault, to be able to speak out immediately, and not keep their stories --and their anger-- locked up inside for years, or decades."

Tweeden's revelations about Franken's behavior rocked the Capitol, with a number of lawmakers -- Republicans and Democrats -- calling for action.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, said the issue should be referred to the ethics committee.

"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," McConnell said in a written statement. "Regardless of party, harassment and assault are completely unacceptable—in the workplace or anywhere else."
In his own statement, Schumer said that sexual harassment is "never acceptable and must not be tolerated."

"I hope and expect that the Ethics Committee will fully investigate this troubling incident, as they should with any credible allegation of sexual harassment," he added."

Franken has said he would cooperate with the committee's investigation.

Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the highest ranking woman in the Democratic Senate leadership, said Franken's apology "doesn't reverse what he's done or end the matter."

A similarly sharp rebuke came from Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat.

"This should not have happened to Leeann Tweeden," Klobuchar said in a statement. "I strongly condemn this behavior and the Senate Ethics Committee must open an investigation. This is another example of why we need to change work environments and reporting practices across the nation, including in Congress."

The political fallout

The allegations against Franken quickly crossed into politics, with the National Republican Senatorial Committee tying senators running for re-election to Franken and the National Republican Congressional Committee demanding that Democratic candidates who had received campaign money from Franken to return those donations.

Josh Hawley, Missouri's Republican attorney general, who is running for the US Senate, used the event to needle Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill, who is up for re-election in 2018 and considered one of the most vulnerable Democrats.

McCaskill tweeted that she was "shocked and concerned" and that the behavior described by Tweeden is "completely unacceptable." She also said she supports calls for an ethics investigation.

"This is not enough," Hawley tweeted, calling on McCaskill to join him in calls for Franken's resignation. "Return the money he gave you & the money he raised for @MODemParty."

McCaskill told CNN that returning Franken's campaign donations is "basically under consideration right now."

Several Democrats, including Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, have indicated that they will donate money they've received from Franken.

An aide to Gillibrand told CNN that she plans to give all the money she's ever received from Franken's PAC -- which they say totals $12,500 -- to the group Protect our Defenders, which combats rape and sexual assault in the military.

Baldwin told MSNBC that she plans to donate campaign contributions from Franken to a women's veteran initiative in Wisconsin.

Montana Sen. Jon Tester, also a Democrat, said he will donate $25,000 from Franken to a Montana organization that supports survivors of domestic and sexual violence.

This story has been updated and will continue to update with developments.

CNN's Manu Raju, Ashley Killough and Jen Rizzo contributed to this report.

Well fuck.

Here's hoping that they drop him quicksmart as opposed to trying to hide in committee for the purpose of keeping a safe blue seat.

[The Romulan Republic]

Yup, the Democrats should drop him. Even leaving aside the obvious ethics of the matter, political expediency dictates it, since you know the Republicans will gleefully play the "Democrats are just as bad, that somehow means all the allegations against our guys are false/don't matter!" card. They'll do it anyway, of course, but let's not make it easy for them.

[Broomstick]

The GOP has loathed Frankin from the moment he took office and will use this to crucify him.

Nevermind that Moore and Trump have done far worse without consequences.

Trump is using these scandals to attack the Dems, but not a word on the guilty in his own party. And Trump has threatened to sue his accusers into ruin. The way they're treating this is completely partisan.

If you demand the automatic removal of Frankin - and keep in mind his accuser is on record that she doesn't want him to resign or lose his job - then you are playing into the GOP's hands. THAT is making is easy for the GOP.

Frankin reacted as he should - he apologized directly to his accuser and has subjected himself to a Senate ethics review. Let that process play out.

Then turn around and demand the same from everyone on the GOP side that has been accused.

[houser2112]

If you demand the automatic removal of Frankin - and keep in mind his accuser is on record that she doesn't want him to resign or lose his job - then you are playing into the GOP's hands. THAT is making is easy for the GOP.

Why would you wait until now, when Franken is a powerful senator, if you didn't want him to suffer? Does she really think, in these heavily partisan times while the Republicans hold all the cards, that Franken wouldn't suffer any consequences from such an accusation?

[Simon_Jester]

The reason she waited until now is that we've got a huge wave of women (and for that matter men) coming forward with sexual harassment allegations dating back not only ten years ago, but twenty, thirty, and even more. The Weinstein accusations have triggered a wave of other people coming forward.

So it would be totally unsurprising if the woman in question stayed quiet when Franken was 'only' a prominent comedian (2006-2008) and afterwards when he became a senator... And then spoke out now. Dozens of other people are doing exactly the same thing. I very much doubt all, or even most, of them are lying or acting with a partisan agenda.

That said, I agree with Broomstick that it would be... inadvisable to get too strongly committed to a specific outcome of this case, especially to the point of ignoring the wishes of the victim. We have procedures for investigating and punishing sexual harassment. If we're going to change those procedures to "politician should resign after accusation is made," then we need to establish firmly that this norm will be followed by both parties. It's useless to have people on your side willing to commit seppuku over their dishonor when the other side actively pees on the idea that honor is even a thing.

[Broomstick]

Absolutely. What Frankin is accused of doing is creepy and disgusting, but it's not a crime in the same sense of Moore fucking 14 year olds, signing their yearbooks, then denying ever knowing the girls. Not to mention fucking 15-16 years olds against their will, i.e. rape.

Equating the two is not reasonable.

Frankin did shit we've all probably done at multiple points in our past - act in a crude manner, take a "joke" too far, act inappropriately, do something we think funny but someone else doesn't, and yes, touch in too familiar a manner. We have all done something like that or the equivalent. The proper response is to apologize, grow the fuck up, and not do that anymore which, it seems, Frankin has done.

Raping teenagers, on other hand, is not a momentary personal lapse.

Again, don't equate the two transgressions. They are very different, even if arguably on the same spectrum.

[Patroklos]

I don't think we all have forced our tongues down the throats of other people. Maybe you get the post second date front door steps lean in peck signals wrong, this was that that.

And we certainly don't follow that up with jokes involving sexually groping the same person. If you have, I suggest you don't share it.

"I was just joking!" has been the textbook cited example of the non understanding toxic male characarure and has never been tolerated recently, especially on this board. But even if it where these two events were within weeks of each other. This isn't a ill thought out joke gone to far, this is a pattern of targeted harassment over a period of time (if we believer her story of obvious cold shoulder treatment to him post first event).

And there is photographic evidence. That separates this from every recent example I can think of from either side. There is no he said she said.

[Broomstick]

Frankin didn't deny it happened, so there is no "he said/she said" anyway. He did state he remembered the incidents differently, but that would be consistent with him thinking it funny and her not. Frankin also admits that in retrospect it was NOT funny, it was wrong, and has stated his willingness to be disciplined for the incident, even though it was years ago.

That is a huge difference from some of the asshats on the GOP side, and until Republicans are drummed out of office I can not support that treatment for Frankin whose transgressions, while skeevy and gross, are nowhere near the severity of many in the Republican camp who are being studiously ignored by those in power.

No, I have never forcibly stuck my tongue into someone else's mouth. I have been on the receiving end of that. Twice.

Which gets back to my experience is different than your experience, and the how women experience the world is different than how men experience the world.

If we remove from office, fire, and otherwise punish every man who ever engaged in inappropriate, sexist behavior there would be so many vacancies that the economy would collapse. Thanks what men don't get - sexist treatment is truly ubiquitous. While there are many men who do not do this there are a shit-ton of men who do, and one asshole will abuse more than one woman, more than ten women, over a lifetime will insult, demean, abuse, and belittle hundreds of women.

Yes, I want something done about the gropers, the huggers, the forced kissers - AFTER they get rid of the frank rapists, pedophiles, and those whose response to their accusers is to sue them into ruin and silence them rather than those who seem willing to learn from their past mistakes. When did people stop understanding that a grope, while a bad thing, is nowhere near as bad as raping a 14 year old?

[houser2112]

The reason she waited until now is that we've got a huge wave of women (and for that matter men) coming forward with sexual harassment allegations dating back not only ten years ago, but twenty, thirty, and even more. The Weinstein accusations have triggered a wave of other people coming forward.

So it would be totally unsurprising if the woman in question stayed quiet when Franken was 'only' a prominent comedian (2006-2008) and afterwards when he became a senator... And then spoke out now. Dozens of other people are doing exactly the same thing. I very much doubt all, or even most, of them are lying or acting with a partisan agenda.

Maybe I wasn't clear what I'm asking. I'm not asking why she's coming out with it now (she's obviously riding the wave of allegations), I'm asking why she's coming out at all. If you don't want him to suffer any consequences, then you keep your mouth shut. What did she expect would happen as a result?

[Patroklos]

Frankin didn't deny it happened, so there is no "he said/she said" anyway. He did state he remembered the incidents differently, but that would be consistent with him thinking it funny and her not. Frankin also admits that in retrospect it was NOT funny, it was wrong, and has stated his willingness to be disciplined for the incident, even though it was years ago.

That is a huge difference from some of the asshats on the GOP side, and until Republicans are drummed out of office I can not support that treatment for Frankin whose transgressions, while skeevy and gross, are nowhere near the severity of many in the Republican camp who are being studiously ignored by those in power.

No, I have never forcibly stuck my tongue into someone else's mouth. I have been on the receiving end of that. Twice.

Which gets back to my experience is different than your experience, and the how women experience the world is different than how men experience the world.

If we remove from office, fire, and otherwise punish every man who ever engaged in inappropriate, sexist behavior there would be so many vacancies that the economy would collapse. Thanks what men don't get - sexist treatment is truly ubiquitous. While there are many men who do not do this there are a shit-ton of men who do, and one asshole will abuse more than one woman, more than ten women, over a lifetime will insult, demean, abuse, and belittle hundreds of women.

Yes, I want something done about the gropers, the huggers, the forced kissers - AFTER they get rid of the frank rapists, pedophiles, and those whose response to their accusers is to sue them into ruin and silence them rather than those who seem willing to learn from their past mistakes. When did people stop understanding that a grope, while a bad thing, is nowhere near as bad as raping a 14 year old?

Nodody did,at least here (regarding your last line). You are just using that as a screen to avoid the fact that you are the only one holding water for Franken's excuse.

What part about the forcing his tongue down her throat sounds like a joke to you, in any context given the version of the story we have? What part of groping her with the knowledge of of what he peviously did just weeks before makes that picture a joke vice say an act of revenge or a "got some anyway bitch" power play?

Note, Frankens didn't include the victim in this "joke." It wasn't a "hey look at this funny picture I made while you were asleep!" She found it quite by accident.

I know for a fact I would not personnaly survive in goverment service given any of the accusations leveled recently, from Moore to Franken. Shit, the picture alone minus the mouth rape assault would do it. I find it funny you would excuse Franken for this. Well if you tell me it's just cold calculated politics it would at least make sense since the "its's a joke!" doesn't fit what we know in the slightest.this a not a "that's what she said!" water cooler moment.

[Broomstick]

If you don't want him to suffer any consequences, then you keep your mouth shut. What did she expect would happen as a result?

She did NOT say she wanted him to suffer no consequences, she said she didn't want him to lose his job. Maybe all she wanted was a public admission of wrong-doing and an apology - which she now has, if that's what she wanted.

Or do you think there are no penalties between "nothing" and "fired from the job"?

Nodody did,at least here (regarding your last line). You are just using that as a screen to avoid the fact that you are the only one holding water for Franken's excuse.

Nope, not "holding water" for anything. Just recognizing that there are different degrees of wrong.

What part about the forcing his tongue down her throat sounds like a joke to you, in any context given the version of the story we have?

Please point to where I personally said it was a joke - FRANKIN said it was a joke, not me. Or am I not allowed to relay someone else's words? Having been on the receiving end, no, it's disgusting and in no way funny for the recipient. It's also not rape.

What part of groping her with the knowledge of of what he peviously did just weeks before makes that picture a joke vice say an act of revenge or a "got some anyway bitch" power play?

Have you been getting your news from Trump's twitter feed?

Yes, again, it's wrong, but you have a distorted sense of right and wrong if you think he deserves greater censure than the pedophile running for office down in Alabama.

Shit, the picture alone minus the mouth rape assault would do it.

You are truly fucked up if you think a forced kiss - unpleasant as it is - is on the same level as rape. Newsflash: it's not. It's disgusting, humiliating, and gross but a forced kiss is not rape. Equating the two is just another example of having no sense of proportion or degree of wrong/criminality.

I find it funny you would excuse Franken for this.

Point to where I said he should be "excused".

A public admission of wrong-doing and an apology to his victim works for me - and apparently, more importantly, for his victim. If it emerges this is a pattern of behavior on his part or something actually criminal comes out then I may well revise my opinion.

Well if you tell me it's just cold calculated politics it would at least make sense since the "its's a joke!" doesn't fit what we know in the slightest.this a not a "that's what she said!" water cooler moment.

Yes, I think the current attacks on Frankin and calls for his resignation are cold, calculated politics on the part of the GOP who sees a way to both eliminate one of their opponents and distract attention from the actual rapists and criminals in their own camp.

[houser2112]

If you don't want him to suffer any consequences, then you keep your mouth shut. What did she expect would happen as a result?

She did NOT say she wanted him to suffer no consequences, she said she didn't want him to lose his job. Maybe all she wanted was a public admission of wrong-doing and an apology - which she now has, if that's what she wanted.

Or do you think there are no penalties between "nothing" and "fired from the job"?

No, I don't think there are, because I don't consider an apology to be a consequence. Considering what's going on with Moore in AL, Franken losing his job is a distinct possibility, and if she doesn't want that to happen, coming out and expecting a public apology to be the limit of the "damage" is an extreme lack of foresight. Do you really think the Republicans are going to let this slide? This is a gift.

[Civil War Man]

Yes, I think the current attacks on Frankin and calls for his resignation are cold, calculated politics on the part of the GOP who sees a way to both eliminate one of their opponents and distract attention from the actual rapists and criminals in their own camp.

There is at least some evidence of this. Roger Stone and Infowars started loudly "predicting" that Franken was about to have a sexual harassment accusation leveled against him several hours before Tweeden came forward. Regardless of the motivation behind Tweeden's decision to come forward, we do have prominent Trump/Moore allies who got advance notice of the accusation and started priming the pump so they could leverage it to their political advantage.

[The Romulan Republic]

The GOP has loathed Frankin from the moment he took office and will use this to crucify him.

Nevermind that Moore and Trump have done far worse without consequences.

Trump is using these scandals to attack the Dems, but not a word on the guilty in his own party. And Trump has threatened to sue his accusers into ruin. The way they're treating this is completely partisan.

Of course.

That doesn't mean that Democrats should respond in a partisan manner in kind, however. Nor make it easier for the Republicans' mudslinging to stick to the party as a whole by taking an equivocal stance on Franken's actions.

If you demand the automatic removal of Frankin - and keep in mind his accuser is on record that she doesn't want him to resign or lose his job - then you are playing into the GOP's hands. THAT is making is easy for the GOP.

I disagree, at least partially. I, like most Democrats, condemn such actions from Republicans. It only makes sense, then, to condemn them as strongly in Democrats as well.

I don't know that he should be forced out of the Senate. If the allegations had dated from his time in office, or it was clear that he had abused his office to cover them up, or if even more severe offences came to light, then I probably would. But for now, I'm mostly content to let his voters decided weather they still want him as their representative (I'd be particularly curious to see what percentage of the female vote he gets next time around).

When I say that the Democratic Party should dump him, I mean that they:

a) Should not defend his actions.

b) Should not fund or promote his campaigns. Let him stand or fall on his own.

But fair point about the accuser's wishes. Its not the only factor to consider, of course, but her opinion is probably, from a moral standpoint, the one that deserves the most weight, and it was a fact I was not previously aware of.

Frankin reacted as he should - he apologized directly to his accuser and has subjected himself to a Senate ethics review. Let that process play out.

I don't know. He played the "I don't recall" card with the forced kissing. I mean, maybe he's telling the truth, but it seems like he's equivocating a bit with his apology.

But I suppose he's as entitled to due process as anyone else, and his response is certainly not the worst that I've heard.

Then turn around and demand the same from everyone on the GOP side that has been accused.

That goes without saying.

[Patroklos]

You are truly fucked up if you think a forced kiss - unpleasant as it is - is on the same level as rape. Newsflash: it's not. It's disgusting, humiliating, and gross but a forced kiss is not rape. Equating the two is just another example of having no sense of proportion or degree of wrong/criminality.

Neither I, nor anyone else, has said anything approaching this. Being charitable to your intentions and assuming you are not just lying, I assume you think that because someone advocates the same thing happen two two different people for different crimes or severity of the same crime means they consider the crimes the same. That ignores two things:

1.) that that person doesn't advocate consequences above and beyond the specific consequence under discussion for one over the other.

2.) the consequences within the realm of possible to inflict due to whatever (statute of limitations, being in a position a third party can intervene in, wealth to go after, etc.) are all you can get.

In the case of Moore I may want him burned at the stake, but given the state of statue of limitation laws as far as I know there is no legal action that can be taken. He has also won a state primary, so he is on the ballet now whether we like it or not. Plenty of people don't like it, and I read an article today about the state GOP doing some creative things, probably extra legal, to try and remove him. The national GOP through there Senate members has already said they eould expel him if he wins. Outside of that, what else CAN they do? This state of affairs is just a quirk of timing, he won't be safe forever. Outside of Moore voluntarily removing himself from the race, what do you want to happen that isn't? Lynch mod?

In the case of Franken, he is a sitting Senator, he has something we can take now straightforwardly through ordinary means. If he leaves of his own accord great. Thats all I have heard anyone call for.

Franken doesn't get to avoid his level of punishment just because somone else can't fully realize theirs due to circumstances nobody has the power to change. If I can only catch one of two known murderers the one I catch doesn't avoid punishment because the other got away. Similarly if I catch both but a judge throws out damning evidence for one because whateverand he gets life instead of the death penalty, murderer number two doesn't get to avoid life because that might make him appear the same as the first. And that frustrating reality doen't mean people are equalizing the causes for calling for similar punishments in those situations either.

And yes, you are making excuses for him with all you whataboutisms. He physically assaulted a woman twice, and was so deranged and uncaring about it he took a trophy picture, and then included the standard exceptions in his Apology, and you are here defending his job as a trusted progressive lawmaker who in true Harvey fashion has been making bank as a womens advocate! What else would you call it?

[Simon_Jester]

Patroklos, I haven't been following the Weinstein case in any serious way other than to be aware it's happening. Would you mind clarifying what you mean by "in true Harvey fashion?"

[Ralin]

Fuck him. Sexual assault is sexual assault and I don't give a damn about how liberal his politics are or how much worse the Republicans are. Being morally superior to Satan does not warrant a defense. If the Senate has some sort of mechanism for kicking him out over shit like this than by all means use it, otherwise vote him out at the next opportunity and replace him with someone we don't know pulls this sort of crap. If the GOP considers this a gift then they're welcome to it.

[The Romulan Republic]

The Senate can vote to expel a member, IIRC. Its been bandied about as a possibility if Roy Moor manages to win.

[The Romulan Republic]

Yes, I think the current attacks on Frankin and calls for his resignation are cold, calculated politics on the part of the GOP who sees a way to both eliminate one of their opponents and distract attention from the actual rapists and criminals in their own camp.

There is at least some evidence of this. Roger Stone and Infowars started loudly "predicting" that Franken was about to have a sexual harassment accusation leveled against him several hours before Tweeden came forward. Regardless of the motivation behind Tweeden's decision to come forward, we do have prominent Trump/Moore allies who got advance notice of the accusation and started priming the pump so they could leverage it to their political advantage.

Sources would be appreciated, though I don't really doubt that this is the case.

Apparently, there's a theory going around that this is an Alt. Right set-up. I ran into it on Facebook earlier.

I don't particularly buy it, though, mostly because Franklin himself basically confessed. But I could buy that Tweeden coordinated with Franklin's political enemies for maximum impact when the story broke. If so, her motives, as you indicate, could be any number of things.

[Simon_Jester]

Fuck him. Sexual assault is sexual assault and I don't give a damn about how liberal his politics are or how much worse the Republicans are. Being morally superior to Satan does not warrant a defense. If the Senate has some sort of mechanism for kicking him out over shit like this than by all means use it, otherwise vote him out at the next opportunity and replace him with someone we don't know pulls this sort of crap. If the GOP considers this a gift then they're welcome to it.

Out of curiosity, what's the lower bound on conduct prior to taking office, that should get a senator kicked out of the Senate?

What's the least bad thing he could have done along these lines, at that time, that you would feel sure he should be expelled from the Senate for? Or, if you don't feel that should be answered... what criteria do you use for deciding whether an act of sexual harassment merits expulsion from the Senate? Is it an absolute zero tolerance thing? Is there a line that has to be crossed?

[Patroklos]

Patroklos, I haven't been following the Weinstein case in any serious way other than to be aware it's happening. Would you mind clarifying what you mean by "in true Harvey fashion?"

Hypocrisy on being a women's rights activist while being guilty of the exact things they publically denounce. Read up on Franken's responses to the resent sexual assault scandals and a few of his own Senate floor speeches on the topic, then juxtapose the against this picture and his own apology.

And no this is not a judgement on the severity of either, just the general character of their outward activist persona versus their actual behsvior.

[Simon_Jester]

I've been trying to figure out what happens behind that kind of behavior for a while.

It's like, there's no obvious reason why a chronic groper WOULD adopt the "women's rights advocate" mask as a way of hiding their true behavior. 95% of men or whatever don't actively do that, so it's not like they wouldn't have plent of camouflage to hide among.

At the same time, it seems so fucking bizarre to have a man who in the present actually believes in denunciations of groping, but whose impulse control is/was so poor that ten years ago he himself was the groper. I can sort of fathom it in cases where there's a huge gap of time between the offense and the activism, enough for a change of heart... but there hasn't really been time for that to happen here.

...

Does AL Franken have any other personal history that gives us reason to think he has poor impulse control that borders on clinical mental illness, or something like that?

[K. A. Pital]

It is just another one of the rich caste of dystopia's overlords.

Seems like he did what all fuckers who get high on power do - engage in sexual abuse. After all, what better way to prove your power than through sex? Freudomarxism FTW.

Crush him.

[Patroklos]

@Simon

He is a former SNL writer from the days that show didn't suck, and I am sure he was ecouraged to be as offensive as possible and mine the darkest pits of humor. Stand ups are improvisational when on the circut before their break in their younger years, rolling with your instincts in an environment where being "wrong" often equals laughs probably doesn't develop a personality of restraint generally.

As to the phenomena of perpetrators adopting the persona of advocate for their victims I don't think Franken is a good example to analyze. As a Drmocratic Senator he is required to make periodic mouth noises about certain pop politics currently running through the body politic's stream of consciousness.

As to beyond that, I think we should remember most criminals don't revel in their crimes generally. You can give in to the dark desires and highs of a criminal act in the moment and still be intellectually aware what you are doing is wrong and even be ashamed. I am sure this can lead to overcompensating in an attempt to absolve oneself, the act itself creating an emotional high. Lots of serial criminals confess to shame ang guilt between their acts, they often describe the drive to repeat them in the same lauguage as people describing drug addiction. I am not sure if the science backs that comparison up, but the claim it nonetheless. I am just trying to say I can see the drive to compensate for past acts you understand are wrong, I just don't give any credit if the compensating acts are at the expense of not acknowledging your victim or avoiding consequences.

Being cynical, it's also possible it's entirely a firewall effort to discourage or. deflect accusation. Even darker it's a continuation of the power play, dominating someone physically and then smirking at the victims realization that you are her champion to the outside world, forcing them to forfeit there option to seek justice through real politic calculus mind fucking. Who knows, i don't have the time to dig into that speculation.

[Ralin]

of curiosity, what's the lower bound on conduct prior to taking office, that should get a senator kicked out of the Senate?

What's the least bad thing he could have done along these lines, at that time, that you would feel sure he should be expelled from the Senate for? Or, if you don't feel that should be answered... what criteria do you use for deciding whether an act of sexual harassment merits expulsion from the Senate? Is it an absolute zero tolerance thing? Is there a line that has to be crossed?

Honestly? I don't know. And in a lot of ways I'm not sure there's a good answer to that because it would mean creating a hierarchy of rape and sexual assault with one kind being the worst and one being meh, barely sexual assault at all and that's pretty fucking horrible.

But right now we're collectively on a roll in terms of sexual assault and harassment being taken seriously and punished and I want that to continue because I know people who've been raped and molested and I'm sick of the fuckers who do it getting away with it. And he admitted to it. And I really doubt that whatever good his vote could do in the near future couldn't be done by whatever non-creep replaces him.