Al Franken

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New York Times Columnist: I Blew It on Al Franken
Times
Columnists
Admit Their
Mistakes
OPINION

Times Columnists Admit Their Mistakes

'I Was Wrong' essays cover Al Franken, inflation, Trump voters, and more

(Newser) - After a woman accused then-Sen. Al Franken of sexual harassment in 2017 amid the #MeToo movement, New York Times columnist Michelle Goldberg called for his resignation. (Franken eventually quit as the pressure built.) Nearly five years later, Goldberg thinks she got it wrong. "I regret calling for Franken...

Al Franken Hit With an Anonymous Accusation

Her story was contained inside a larger NYMag story

(Newser) - This week's New York Magazine cover story looks at women and men who went public with their stories of sexual assault and harassment—and what happened next. For one woman, the "next" never happened. Explaining that "not everyone speaks out," the piece introduces a woman who...

Al Franken Regrets His Quick Resignation
Al Franken Regrets
His Quick Resignation
longform

Al Franken Regrets His Quick Resignation

'New Yorker' takes a lengthy, skeptical look at the allegations that brought him down

(Newser) - Al Franken has largely been lying low since his abrupt resignation from the Senate in 2017, but when he does venture out, he says it's common for someone to stop him on the street and give him some version of "You shouldn't have resigned." He typically...

On This Issue, Buttigieg Breaks With the Crowd

Democratic presidential candidate says he wouldn't have pressured Al Franken to resign

(Newser) - Pete Buttigieg is diverging from other Democratic presidential candidates who demanded former Sen. Al Franken's resignation over sexual misconduct allegations, saying he wouldn't have "applied that pressure." "It was his decision to make" and "I think the way that we basically held him to...

Gillibrand's Role in Franken Scandal May Cost Her

Politico reports that big donors are angry with her for forcing his resignation

(Newser) - If Kirsten Gillibrand decides to run for president, Politico reports that she shouldn't expect help from several big Democratic donors during the primaries. The reason? Her role in forcing Al Franken to resign last year. The website talks to more than a dozen big donors and bundlers on both...

Trump on 'Wacky' Al Franken: He Folded 'Like a Wet Rag'

President made his remarks at Minnesota rally Thursday night

(Newser) - It's been almost a year since Al Franken left the Senate after sexual misconduct allegations were lobbed against him by several women, and it's been nearly that long since President Trump last tweeted about the former Minnesota senator. On Thursday night, however, Trump paid a visit to Franken'...

Transgender Candidate Makes History in Vermont
Transgender
Candidate
Makes History
in Vermont
ELECTION NIGHT

Transgender Candidate Makes History in Vermont

Hallquist's victory praised as a 'defining moment'

(Newser) - In a historic moment for the transgender rights movement, former power company exec Christine Hallquist won the Democratic primary for Vermont governor Tuesday, becoming the first transgender candidate from a major party to win a gubernatorial primary. Hallquist, who transitioned from male to female in 2015, was chief executive of...

Some Big Names Watch Newest Senators Take Oath

Former VPs Biden, Mondale joined Jones, Smith

(Newser) - Two former vice presidents stood beside the Senate's newest senators on the Senate floor as the two Democrats took their oaths of office, the AP reports. Former Vice President Joseph Biden was next to Alabama Democrat Doug Jones as he was sworn in Wednesday. Former Vice President Walter Mondale—...

Bachmann: If 'Called,' I'll Run for Franken's Seat

The fiery Christian conservative shared the news with televangelist Jim Bakker

(Newser) - Conservative firebrand Michele Bachmann says she's mulling a run for Al Franken's Senate seat, the Star Tribune reports. The former Minnesota congresswoman, whose controversial remarks helped make her a mainstay in 2012 Republican primary coverage, recently shared the news on The Jim Bakker Show , though she told the...

Franken Has Parting Shot for GOP in Final Senate Speech

He urges senators to 'stand up for truth'

(Newser) - So long, Sen. Al Franken: The Democrat delivered his final speech on the Senate floor Thursday, slamming Trump administration policies and urging fellow senators to "stand up for truth," the Hill reports. Franken, who reluctantly resigned after several women accused him of groping or harassing them, said he...

Al Franken Has Set a Date for His Senate Departure

Jan. 2, according to a spokesperson

(Newser) - Sen. Al Franken plans to officially leave the US Senate on Jan. 2, the AP reports. The announcement Wednesday from a Franken spokesperson should put to rest questions surrounding the timing of the Minnesota Democrat's departure and concern that he might reverse his planned resignation. Franken announced earlier this...

This Is the Woman Replacing Al Franken in the Senate

Minnesota Lt. Gov. Tina Smith plans to run again for the seat in 2018

(Newser) - Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton appointed Lt. Gov. Tina Smith on Wednesday to replace Sen. Al Franken until a special election in November, setting up his longtime and trusted adviser for a potentially bruising 2018 election, per the AP . Smith was widely seen as Dayton's top choice from the moment...

Nikki Haley: Trump's Accusers 'Should Be Heard'

The US ambassador to the UN's comments come after three male congressmen resigned

(Newser) - President Trump's ambassador to the United Nations believes the women who have accused the president of sexual misconduct "should be heard." Appearing on Face the Nation Sunday, Nikki Haley said she is "incredibly proud" of the women who have come forward over the last months with...

SNL Explores Santa's Naughty List
SNL Explores
Santa's Naughty List

SNL Explores Santa's Naughty List

Al Franken, Matt Lauer, Roy Moore all get poked in Cold Open

(Newser) - It's that time of the year to determine who's been naughty and who's been nice, and Saturday Night Live jumped in with its two cents on the seemingly endless sexual harassment scandals in its Cold Open. With Kenan Thompson as Santa and Kate McKinnon as an elf,...

Dems' Kirsten Gillibrand: Hero for Women or 'Hypocrite'?


Now in DC
Spotlight:
Kirsten
Gillibrand
THE RUNDOWN

Now in DC Spotlight: Kirsten Gillibrand

She led the charge against fellow Democrat Al Franken

(Newser) - The demise of Al Franken's career in the US Senate was hastened along by members of his own party who called for him to step down amid sexual misconduct allegations. Chief among them: New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who helped turn up the heat on Franken this week by...

With Franken Out, GOP Has Dream Candidate in Mind

A once-safe seat for Democrats is now up for grabs in 2018

(Newser) - Democrats aren't in immediate danger of losing Al Franken's Senate seat. Minnesota's governor is a Democrat himself and will choose within the party for his temporary replacement. After that, however, all bets are off. And that's bad news for Democrats, explains the AP : Franken would not...

4 Words in Franken's Speech Grab Attention
4 Words in
Franken's Speech
Grab Attention
the rundown

4 Words in Franken's Speech Grab Attention

'In the coming weeks'

(Newser) - Al Franken on Thursday announced that in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations he would resign "in the coming weeks." The Week notes that the phrasing caught some attention online, and NBC News/MSNBC national political correspondent Steve Kornacki touches on one slightly out-there theory on Twitter. "I...

Al Franken Resigns, Makes Reference to Trump's Behavior

Confirms what sources had been saying since Wednesday

(Newser) - In a speech on the Senate floor Thursday, Al Franken did what sources had been saying he would since Wednesday: resign his seat in the wake of mounting sexual misconduct allegations. "Serving in the United States Senate has been the great honor of my life," Franken said. "...

Report: Al Franken Will Resign
Report: Al Franken Will Resign
THE RUNDOWN

Report: Al Franken Will Resign

Not so fast, senator's office says

(Newser) - Fellow Democratic senators are calling for Sen. Al Franken to step down —and a Democratic official says he plans to do so. The official told Minnesota Public Radio on Wednesday that Franken, who has been accused of sexual harassment by multiple women, plans to announce his resignation Thursday. MPR...

Another Woman Accuses Al Franken
After Franken Accuser No. 7,
Democrats Tell Him to Go
The Rundown

After Franken Accuser No. 7, Democrats Tell Him to Go

More than a dozen Democratic senators have called for Franken to step down

(Newser) - The heat is intensifying on Al Franken. After another woman, the seventh, came forward with allegations, Kirsten Gillibrand and other female Democratic senators called on him to resign Tuesday, reports the Washington Post . "While Senator Franken is entitled to have the Ethics Committee conclude its review, I believe it...

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