Thursday, November 16, 2017

Sexual misconduct allegations against senator Al Franken

The "growing outcry over sexual harassment" has now engulfed Al Franken which is a shame since he's one of the most progressive senators in congress: 
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/16/us/politics/al-franken-sexual-harassment-groping-forcible-kissing.html

"WASHINGTON — A growing national outcry over sexual harassment reached the Senate on Thursday, when a radio newscaster accused Al Franken, Democrat of Minnesota, of kissing and groping her without consent during a 2006 U.S.O. tour of the Middle East before he took public office."

The accuser is Leeann Tweeden, a very attractive news anchor and model:
http://fanpix.famousfix.com/gallery/leeann-tweeden

Tweeden's recount of the events is believable and the photo of Franken pretending to grope her is of very bad-taste:

http://www.ocregister.com/2017/11/16/kabc-radio-news-anchor-leeann-tweeden-accuses-sen-al-franken-of-kissing-and-groping-her/

"In a post shared early Thursday morning on KABC.com, Tweeden says the former comedian and now-politician forcibly kissed her while insisting they rehearse a kiss he wrote into a skit to perform for the troops.
She also provided a photo of Franken apparently reaching toward, if not touching, her breasts while she is wearing military gear and sleeping. Franken appears well aware the photo is being taken."
In no way am I excusing Franken's behavior, but in my opinion, Franken's actions are different than Roy Moore's. Unlike Moore, Franken has accepted the fact what he did was wrong. And unlike Roy Moore's victims, Tweeden was a woman not a teenager when this happened. In addition, Tweeden has accepted Franken's apology:

"Woman who accused Franken says she accepts his apology"


'The woman who accused Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) of sexual misconduct said Thursday she accepts his apology.
"The apology, sure I accept it, yes. People make mistakes and of course he knew he made a mistake," Leeann Tweeden said. "So yes I do accept that apology. There's no reason why I shouldn't accept his apology."'
Nevertheless, an ethics investigation is warranted, especially if more women come forward to make accusations against Franken. Being a U.S. Senator is a very important office to hold & there's no excuse for this type of behavior. But this also applies to Roy Moore. And the fact Moore's accusers were teenagers when the events initially happened makes it a more serious issue. There's no excuse for anyone to dismiss sexual harassment accusations just because of the accused's party affiliation. 

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