Looks like Sen. Al Franken’s days are numbered after another woman came out saying that she was sexually assaulted by the onetime-comedian-turned-lawmaker.
According to a report by Politico, an aide alleges that during a taping of his radio show in 2006, then-comedian Franken forcibly tried to kiss her. The aide said that as she left the room, Franken said: “It’s my right as an entertainer.”
“He was between me and the door and he was coming at me to kiss me. It was very quick, and I think my brain had to work really hard to be like, ‘Wait, what is happening?’ But I knew whatever was happening was not right, and I ducked,” the aide said in an interview with Politico.
“I was really startled by it, and I just sort of booked it towards the door and he said, ‘It’s my right as an entertainer,’” she said.
This makes the sixth accuser to say that Franken either forcibly groped her or tried to kiss her. The Democrat from Minnesota, of course, denies the allegations, but now Democratic senators who have been extra vocal about allegations of sexual misconduct against Roy Moore, the GOP nominee to represent Alabama in the U.S. Senate, have finally begun to call for Franken’s resignation.
“I’m shocked and appalled by Sen. Franken’s behavior. It’s clear to me that this has been a deeply harmful, persistent problem and a clear pattern over a long period of time,” Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said in a statement, USA Today reports. “It’s time for him to step aside.”
It was a sentiment echoed by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), who posted this message on Facebook:
While Senator Franken is entitled to have the Ethics Committee conclude its review, I believe it would be better for our country if he sent a clear message that any kind of mistreatment of women in our society isn’t acceptable by stepping aside to let someone else serve.
In total, some 29 Democratic members of Congress are now calling for Franken’s resignation, and my only question is, what took so long?
Six women have come out to say that the senator forced himself on them. There’s a photo that appears to show Franken touching a woman’s breast while she’s asleep. I believe, and this might be far-fetched for some senators, that sexual assault is a nonpartisan issue, and Franken disgusts me just as much as John Conyers, President Donald Trump and Roy Moore. It’s time to stop playing politics while women appear to be collateral damage.
Franken is expected to make a statement Thursday, and many believe that he will be offering his resignation. He’s already issued a public apology to some of his victims and has said that he welcomes an Ethics Committee investigation into their claims.
Well, I would like to play the role of said Ethics Committee and offer Franken a number. Sen. Franken, that number is six, as in six women claim that your conduct was not only unwanted but forced, and so, at this point, I think it’s safe to conclude that this is a trend, and your services are no longer needed.