What happens if Al Franken faces a Senate ethics investigation?
In his second statement after being accused of forcing an unwanted kiss on a fellow USO performer, Leeann Tweeden, during a 2006 tour, Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) said he was "asking that an ethics investigation be undertaken, and I will gladly cooperate." Tweeden also produced a photo of Franken posing with his hands over her breasts while she was asleep. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) had already referred his case to the Senate Ethics Committee, with support from top Senate Democrats.
The chairman of the ethics committee, Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), declined to comment on whether Franken would face investigation. Since the incidents happened before Franken was elected, a Senate Ethics Committee investigation would be unusual, but "there are no specific limitations on what the panel can probe," The Washington Post reports. "Senate Republicans have made that point repeatedly this week in trying to force Moore out of the Alabama contest, warning that he will face likely expulsion from the Senate if he wins the Dec. 12 race." Clearly, these are not usual times.
Past ethics committee investigations have led to the resignation of senators accused of sexual impropriety — Sen. Bob Packwood (R-Ore.) in 1995, and Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) in 2011, for example. But along with giving senators time to see if other women come forward to accuse Franken of misconduct, an ethics investigation would help the Senate, at least, draw a line today.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"If the Franken case does go before the committee and makes it to a vote, it will reveal what each senator on the committee ... thinks the standard is, or should be, for sexual misconduct on Capitol Hill at a time when tensions over this issue are high," says Shannon Vavra at Axios. As for Tweeden, she suggested Thursday she's said her piece, accepted Franken's apology, and has no opinion on his future in the Senate. "That's not my place," she said. Peter Weber
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Post Office's Capture software to be reviewed over 'glitches'
Speed Read Solicitor representing accused postmasters says flaws in the IT system follow 'very similar pattern' to Horizon
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
How would we know if World War Three had started?
Today's Big Question With conflicts in Ukraine, Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific, the 'spark' that could ignite all-out war 'already exists'
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Death Cafe: where people talk mortality over tea and cake
Why everyone's talking about The meet-ups are intended to offer a judgement-free and respectful space to discuss the end of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published