Presidential candidate Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said Friday she and the Senate “miss” former Sen. Al Franken but said they “couldn’t stay silent” on sexual harassment allegations.
“We are all concerned about Senator Franken and frankly we all miss him. He was someone who really served us well on the Judiciary Committee and was a strong senator, but the truth is he had eight credible allegations against him for groping and forcible kissing and they were corroborated at the time that happened, they were investigated by the press and they were found to be credible,” the New York Democrat said during a campaign event.
“Two of those allegations were said when he was a senator and so for me and the other members of Congress, particularly the women in the Senate, we couldn’t carry his water any farther. We couldn’t stay silent and we couldn’t defend him. I couldn’t defend him,” she continued.
Ms. Gillibrand added no one pressured Mr. Franken’s resignation in January of 2018, adding it was ultimately the former Minnesota senator’s decision.
“So I know we miss him, but he made a decision, it’s his alone to decide whether he resigns or not and that’s his choice,” she added.
• Bailey Vogt can be reached at bvogt@washingtontimes.com.
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