Democrats’ feet to the fire over serial sex claims
Republican candidate’s campaign rocked by resignation
The wave of sexual harassment allegations continue to erupt in Washington with new claims hitting Democrat politicians. Democrats have been quick to support the “me too” chorus of women — and some men — who have stepped up to allege sexual misconduct and name names. But now “me too” stains the Democrats, too, putting them in an awkward place as they calibrate how forcefully to respond.
Yesterday, two women alleged that Senator Al Franken of Minnesota touched their buttocks during events for his first campaign for Senate.
The women spoke to Huff Post on condition of anonymity. The women said the events occurred in Minneapolis in 2007 and 2008.
Franken said in a statement: “It’s difficult to respond to anonymous accusers, and I don’t remember those campaign events.”
Last week, Franken was accused of forcibly kissing a woman in 2006. Franken also was photographed with his hands over her breasts as she slept. A second woman came forward, alleging Franken grabbed her buttocks during a photo op at the Minnesota State Fair.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has called for an ethics investigation of Franken, which Franken says he supports.
Yesterday Melanie Sloan, a highprofile Washington lawyer specialising in congressional ethics, said that Congressman John Conyers of Michigan harassed and verbally abused her when she worked for him on Capitol Hill in the 1990s and that her repeated appeals for help to congressional leadership were ignored.
On Tuesday, BuzzFeed published affidavits from former employees of Conyers who said they saw the Democrat inappropriately touching women who worked for him and asking them for sexual favours.
It reported that his office paid more than US$27,000 to a woman who alleged she was fired because she rejected his sexual advances. On Wednesday, Conyers denied he made that settlement — but his office later acknowledged it while still denying that the allegations were true. The House Ethics Committee has opened an investigation into Conyers.
On the Republican side, the campaign of Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore was rocked yesterday by the resignation of communications director John Rogers. Moore campaign strategist Brett Doster told CNN that Rogers wasn’t prepared to deal with the “level of scrutiny” from the media following the allegations that Moore pursued relationships with teenage girls, including a 14-year-old when he was 32.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan, both Republicans, have called on Moore to leave the race. And the Republican National Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee have pulled their support for his campaign.
A political action committee supporting Moore, who faces Democrat Doug Jones in a December 12 special election, is fundraising off US President Donald Trump’s nearendorsement of the Republican.
For his part, Jones released a campaign ad yesterday spotlighting Moore’s accusers. An announcer recites their names as their photographs appear on screen. “They were girls when Roy Moore immorally pursued them,” the announcer says in the opening. The ad ends with: “Will we make their abuser a US senator?”