The rise and fall of Al Franken

AFTER several women accused him of sexual harassment, Al Franken required the support of his colleagues to hold onto his job. Most stood by him for a couple of weeks after the first accusations against the 66-year-old Democratic senator from Minnesota surfaced. But by the time an eighth accuser came forward Mr Franken’s fate was sealed. On December 6th Chuck Schumer, a senator from New York who leads the Democrats, and a host of female (and some male) senators, including  Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Kamala Harris of California, Debbie Stabenow of Michigan and Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, called on Mr Franken to resign. On December 7th, Mr Franken announced that he would step down “in the coming weeks”.

“I of all people am aware that there is some irony in the fact that I am leaving while a man who has bragged on tape about his history of sexual assault sits in the Oval Office, and a man who has repeatedly preyed on young girls campaigns for the Senate with the full support of his party,” Mr Franken said as he stood...Continue reading