Franken accuser: I'm not calling for him to step down

Does this save him? If his own victim isn’t willing to call what he did a firing offense, Senate Dems could hide behind that as a reason to give him a second chance — if no one else accuses him of sexual misconduct. But what if someone does? Watch the clip and you’ll see Leeann Tweeden note that she’s already received a phone call from a woman claiming that something similar happened between her and Franken.

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He’s all broken up about it, apparently. And by “it,” I of course mean getting caught.

Democrats are piling on him today, both inside Congress and among the liberal commentariat, not wanting to lose the advantage they momentarily enjoy over Roy Moore and, potentially, Trump. Franken seems to be well-liked by his colleagues but he’s expendable; if he steps down, another Democrat will replace him. If Moore flames out in Alabama, that’s a pick-up and suddenly the odds of a Democratic Senate takeover next fall are very real. They’ll sacrifice Franken in the name of helping Doug Jones. The latest cut comes from his Minnesota colleague, Amy Klobuchar, who repeats today’s Democratic refrain that the Ethics Committee needs to investigate Franken:

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“This should not have happened to Leeann Tweeden. I strongly condemn this behavior and the Senate Ethics Committee must open and conduct a thorough investigation. This is another example of why we need to change work environments and reporting practices across the nation, including in Congress.”

Everyone wants the Ethics Committee to crack down. Fun fact: The committee hasn’t disciplined a senator in nine years despite having received 63 complaints of unethical behavior last year alone. What is there for the Ethics Committee to investigate in Franken’s case, exactly? The photo is what it is. Tweeden’s allegation of aggressive kissing and groping is straightforward he said/she said. Unless the idea is to open a file on Franken in the expectation that other accusers will come forward, there’s really nothing to “investigate.” And even if other accusers do come forward, there’s a jurisdictional question at stake that’s relevant to both Franken and, potentially, Roy Moore. Namely, should the Ethics Committee be in the habit of investigating behavior that happened before the senator became a senator? Why not let voters deal with that?

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Whatever happens to Franken, between the left’s reawakening to the allegations against Bill Clinton and the certainty that more big-name Democrats will be accused of sexual misconduct before 2020, it’s a cinch that a woman will be on the party’s next presidential ticket. Ironclad guarantee.

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