Kitty fundraising for Franken

Published March 4, 2008 5:00am ET



Funnyman-cum-Senate candidate Al Franken is back in town today, and on his agenda is an evening fundraiser co-hosted by muckraking author Kitty Kelley.

AP

Judy Harris, a law partner at Reed Smith who told us she’s an old friend of Franken, is hosting the event at her home. Among her co-hosts: A. Scott Bolden, also a partner at Reed Smith and the former chairman of the D.C. Democratic Party; Reed Smith partner Tom Greeson; Susan Cappatelli, executive director of the American Roentgen Ray Society; Qwest lawyer Melissa Newman; Blair Levin, an analyst for Stifel Nicolaus; JAS International President Jill Schuker; and, of course, Kelley herself.

The author, who resides in Georgetown, has penned tell-all tomes on Nancy Reagan, the Bush family and Jackie Kennedy Onassis. She and Franken have even appeared in the same book: Bernard Goldberg’s “110 People Who Are Screwing Up America,” which may explain their solidarity.

Franken, the “Saturday Night Live” alumnus, is running as a Democrat from Minnesota, trying to unseat incumbent Republican Norm Coleman.

According to a source with knowledge of the event, it costs a minimum of $500 to attend, with other price points at $1,000 and $2,300 per person. Franken is expected to speak. Which means that his benefactors will expect him to be funny.