Senator Al Franken was accused by yet another woman of sexual misconduct on Wednesday. The anonymous victim told Politico that the senator tried to kiss her after she made an appearance on his radio show in 2006, prior to his election. Franken denied the allegations:
This allegation is categorically not true and the idea that I would claim this as my right as an entertainer is preposterous. I look forward to fully cooperating with the ongoing ethics committee investigation.
About two-thirds of the Democrats in the Senate, and majority of the women, called for the difficult decision for Franken to step down. The former Saturday Night Live comedian made the announcement in the video above that “in the coming weeks [I] will be resigning as a member of the United States Senate”. In his resignation, Franken didn’t sound too remorseful as he didn’t take any accountability for his actions, and downplayed the situation:
I earned the reputation of someone who respects the women I work alongside everyday. I know there’s been a very different picture of me painted over the last few weeks but I know who I really am … Nothing I have done as Senator … has brought this honor on this institution, and I am confident that the ethics committee would agree.
He continued to say how ironic it was that he had to resign, but the President of the United States is sitting comfortably in the oval office after bragging about groping women on camera.
I, of all people, am aware that there is some irony in the fact that I am leaving while a man who has bragged on tape about his history of sexual assault sits in the Oval Office, and a man who has repeatedly preyed on young girls campaigns for the Senate with the full support of his party.
This fact is pretty ironic, but dimming Donald Trump’s light doesn’t make Franken’s light brighter. At least six women accused Al Franken of groping and other unwelcome conduct according to a Senate ethics panel’s preliminary investigation.
