Ex-aide: Franks offered me $5 million to have his child
Republican Rep. Trent Franks resigned over woman’s claim.
WASHINGTON — A former aide to Republican Rep. Trent Franks said the congressman repeatedly pressed her to carry his child, at one point offering her $5 million to act as a surrogate mother.
The eight-term lawmaker abruptly resigned Friday, bowing to an ultimatum from House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis. Ryan told Franks that he would refer the allegations to the Ethics Committee and urged him to step aside.
The former staffer said the congressman at least four times asked if she’d be willing to act as a surrogate in exchange for money. Franks, in his statement announcing his resignation, said he and his wife, who have struggled with infertility, have twins who were carried through surrogacy.
The former aide said the conversations took place in private, sometimes in the congressman’s car, and that she repeatedly told him she wasn’t interested. She said she never filed a formal complaint because until recently she didn’t know where to go, but that his behavior had made her feel uncomfortable.
The Associated Press verified the identity of the staffer and confirmed that she worked in Franks’ office.
She asked that her name be withheld out of concern for her privacy.
“During my time there, I was asked a few times to look over a ‘contract’ to carry his child, and if I would conceive his child, I would be given $5 million,” she said, adding that she refused to look over the contract and has never seen a copy.
The woman said the requests shocked her, and made her feel afraid that if she didn’t agree, she would face professional consequences.
She said she spoke to another aide in the office, who had also been approached about surrogacy.
The aide cited the surrogacy requests as “a main reason” for leaving the office, adding that she felt retaliated against after turning down the congressman, ignored by Franks and not given many assignments.
A spokesman for Franks would not comment on whether the congressman offered aides money in exchange to act as surrogates.
Franks, a staunch conservative, said in his statement Thursday that he never physically intimidated, coerced or attempted to have sexual contact with any member of his congressional staff.
Franks, 60, said he had become familiar with the surrogacy process in recent years and “became insensitive as to how the discussion of such an intensely personal topic might affect others.”
Franks’ net worth of nearly $33 million makes him one of the wealthier members of Congress.
Franks said in a statement Friday: “Last night, my wife was admitted to the hospital in Washington, D.C., due to an ongoing ailment. After discussing options with my family, we came to the conclusion that the best thing for our family now would be for me to tender my previous resignation effective today, December 8th, 2017.”
Franks, an abortion opponent, is one of three lawmakers to step aside in a week as sexual misconduct allegations rocked the Capitol.
On Thursday, liberal Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., announced ne would be resigning after facing allegations of sexual harassment by at least eight women. On Tuesday, Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., resigned. He faced accusations from women of improper sexual behavior that he’s contesting.
On Friday, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder announced that Conyers’ congressional seat won’t be filled until the regularly scheduled November election, leaving it vacant for nearly a year. Snyder decided the post will effectively be listed twice on the Aug. 7 primary and Nov. 6 general election ballots.
Meanwhile, The Washington Post reported Friday that a former clerk for Judge Alex Kozinski said the well-known jurist, who for many years served as chief judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, called her into his office several times and pulled up pornography on his computer, asking if she thought it was digitally altered or if it aroused her sexually.
In a statement, Kozinski said: “I have been a judge for 35 years and during that time have had over 500 employees in my chambers. I treat all of my employees as family and work very closely with most of them. I would never intentionally do anything to offend anyone and it is regrettable that a handful have been offended by something I may have said or done.”