In a careful statement of apology issued on Monday, Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., perhaps inadvertently drew what appears to be his line in the sand when it comes to sexual misconduct from members of Congress.
Embroiled in controversy over allegations from four women who say he groped them, Franken has been apologetic but careful, even as calls for his resignation have emanated from some in his own party. In sum, three women have accused Franken of groping their backsides while posing for pictures and one woman, Leean Tweeden, has accused him of forcibly kissing her, as well as groping her breasts while she slept, the latter of which is documented in a photograph.
Franken, claims not to remember touching any women inappropriately, but nevertheless said he was “tremendously sorry” to his accusers on Monday and has confirmed he will cooperate with an ethics investigation. When it comes to Tweeden, Franken explained he remembers the event she’s described “differently,” but apologized to her because “you have to respect women’s experience.”
Regarding the picture for which he posed while groping her breasts as she slept, Franken conceded in an interview on Sunday that Tweeden “didn’t have any ability to consent” and “had every right to feel violated by that photo,” which was taken before he was elected to the Senate. But in that same interview, and again on Monday, Franken indicated he has no plans to resign.
In essence, that means the senator admits to groping a woman’s breasts while she slept, but believes those actions do not disqualify him from office.
With accusations of sexual misconduct swirling on Capitol Hill, many are wondering what does and will separate bad behavior, both alleged and admitted, from behavior worthy of a member’s resignation. Franken has been contrite and is clearly working hard to prove he’s an ally of his feminist supporters, but his simultaneous admission of wrongdoing and refusal to resign implies he believes the behavior for which he apologized is not worthy of triggering a resignation.
That’s a line. It may be only Franken’s line for now, but the question going forward is whether his Democratic colleagues will agree.
