After a second woman accused Senator Al Franken of sexual harassment, some left-wing groups turned against him, calling for his resignation. Both the GOP and the Democratic party were already demanding a Senate ethics investigation after accusations emerged that the Senator made inappropriate advances on Leeann Tweeden, a radio anchor, but after fresh allegations came to light liberals have become even louder in their calls for Franken to step down.
“We believe Lindsay Menz. We believe Leeann Tweeden. Senator @alfranken should be held accountable and he should resign,” read Indivisible’s tweet.
Most of the Democratic senators who previously insisted on an ethics probe remained silent following the latest allegations, with only Senator Kirsten Gillibrand saying that a committee investigation was the “appropriate step and needs to happen immediately.”
CREDO Mobile, a company with a liberal activism branch, was among those calling for the senator’s resignation.
“CREDO is committed to standing with women who speak out, holding perpetrators accountable and working to change the systemic and institutionalized misogyny that lets these behaviors continue without consequence,” their statement read.
“We believe that Sen. Franken should immediately resign from the U.S. Senate and that Gov. Mark Dayton should appoint a progressive woman to replace him.”
A spokeswoman for the Women’s March also said Franken “should be held accountable for his actions.”
Last week, after Tweeden came forward with her accusations that Franken had groped her while taking a picture, the senator apologized, claiming that he supported an ethics committee probe. However, he did not deny the allegations directly, only saying that he didn’t remember taking the picture. Franken added that he felt sorry that “Ms. Menz came away from our interaction feeling disrespected.”
Some former female staffers stood in Franken’s defense, saying that in the years they worked for him, he treated the “with the utmost respect.”
“He valued our work and our opinions and was a champion for women both in the legislation he supported and in promoting women to leadership roles in our offices.”
A spokesperson for the senator said he would not resign.
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