As you may have read this morning, today radio anchor Leeann Tweeden accused Sen. Al Franken of groping her in her sleep and of sticking his tongue down her throat without permission on a USO tour in 2006. He became a senator three years later.
Tweeden provides a photo as proof of the groping (or at least of the pantomime of groping—I can’t tell if his hands are actually touching her flak jacket or if they’re hovering, but I’m finding it hard to care. In the photo its clear he wants the viewer to think he’s groping her.)
And then here comes Franken’s woefully unserious and incomplete apology:
Just got a response from @alfranken: “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.”
— Asher Klein (@kleinstar) November 16, 2017
After reading this a few times, I’m not sure what he’s apologizing for. If he doesn’t remember the rehearsal for the skit the same way, then how does he remember it? If he remembers not “aggressively” sticking his tongue in Tweeden’s mouth, of not pressuring her to practice a kiss, then why is he expending his sincerest apologies? Did he just pressure her into practicing the kiss but not use tongue? Did he use tongue but not pressure? What is he apologizing for?
As for his excuse about groping Tweeden in her sleep: Clearly Franken intends for this to be an apology, but why qualify it with a justification? These are gestures of casual dismissal, not of acceptance and remorse.
I’ve asked the office of Senator Maria Cantwell for comment. A spokesperson said they’ll get back to me. I’ll update this post when they do.
Since I started writing this post, Franken has offered a different, much longer, much better apology:
“I am asking that an ethics investigation be undertaken, and I will gladly cooperate.” https://t.co/g9Z4za9Gsv
— Sam Stein (@samstein) November 16, 2017
Right now Tim Kaine is weighting the sufficiency of the apology, other electeds are claiming not to have read the allegations, but I think he should step down. It feels silly to say this, but you can’t sexually harass a person, offer up a bullshit response, and still hope to have a seat in the Senate. As Tweeden rightly mentions in her story, there are probably others with similar stories. Do we wait for three more to come out? Four?
Remember: he’s just a fucking politician. These people are replaceable. That’s the idea. It’s true Franken is a funny and powerful politician who is clutch at a Senate hearing. But I bet there are plenty of other politicians in Minnesota who are capable of asking Jeff Sessions if he’s ever seen a Russian.
Minnesota has an unusually deep Dem bench, and several female statewide electeds. https://t.co/oKT2HcYjK9
— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) November 16, 2017
As Weigel also points out on Twitter, if Franken steps down, the governor will appoint a Democratic replacement and call for a special election in 2018.
*Updates*
Statement from Senator Patty Murray:
This is unacceptable behavior and extremely disappointing. I am glad Al came out and apologized, but that doesn’t reverse what he’s done or end the matter. I support an ethics committee investigation into these accusations and I hope this latest example of the deep problems on this front spurs continued action to address it.
If this investigation reveals that this kind of conduct continued WHILE HE WAS IN OFFICE, then he should step down. If not, then he should stay.
He has a long road ahead of him, in any case. His initial statement was awful; his subsequent apology better. He should use his platform afforded as a United States Senator to help make this kind of behavior an aberration rather than ordinary.
And, IMHO, he’s still a better Senator than Roy Moore could ever hope to be.
Definitely mixed emotions on this one. The picture alone is damning, the apparently unconscious victim aspect in the photo is particularly disturbing. Obviously it is staged but to what extent? Was he egged by other soldiers? Also kind of weird that she is sleeping upright in full gear but that’s just speculation. And being pushy about practicing the kissing scene is arguably par for the course in the acting world but becomes more serious if he was in a position of power. He was not yet a senator so it could be said that they were peers in that situation, not that that is an excuse for sexual harassment. But most of all I’m just upset because in all other regards he has been such a brave and righteous Defender of Justice. I admit I am totally biased in praying that this is not what it looks like. Oh Al say it ain’t so!
The entire Republican party is populated with tax cheats, philanderers, hypocrites, NRA-owned hacks. The next addition will be a (very strongly alleged) pedophile. And they all deny every bit of it when regularly caught.
And you’re incensed about Al Franken.
Update: the photographer who took the picture has weighed in to say that it was a staged picture, that Tweeten was in on it, and that at the time, they all had a good laugh. It was a long tour. All of them were horsing around. This does not speak to the unwanted “tongue in the mouth” treatment — EEEEWWWWW!!!! — but every picture tells a story that may or may not be true. Leeanne Tweeten was not known to me because I don’t have cable, don’t watch Hannity, don’t listen to right-wing talk radio where she regularly appears. She may have an axe to grind against them lib’ruls — and Al Franken is certainly one of those. That said, fuck all y’all tongue-slippers.