President Donald Trump slammed Sen. Al Franken for a picture showing the Minnesota senator groping news anchor Leeann Tweeden.
In a tweet Thursday night, Trump said the picture “is really bad” and “speaks a thousand words.” Trump also questioned where Franken’s hands might have been in other pictures.
This photo is really bad news for Al Franken, rarely is there photographic evidence of these allegations… https://t.co/RUFs8Lcxz6 pic.twitter.com/yLnw981p9J
— Sarah Westwood (@sarahcwestwood) November 16, 2017
“And to think that just last week he was lecturing anyone who would listen about sexual harassment and respect for women. Lesley Stahl tape?” Trump added in a follow-up tweet, referencing a “Saturday Night Live” skit the comedian pitched in 1995. The proposed skit involved Franken drugging and raping CBS “60 Minutes” anchor Leslie Stahl.
The Al Frankenstien picture is really bad, speaks a thousand words. Where do his hands go in pictures 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 while she sleeps? …..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 17, 2017
.And to think that just last week he was lecturing anyone who would listen about sexual harassment and respect for women. Lesley Stahl tape?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 17, 2017
Tweeden published the picture Thursday morning in a column where she recounted how Franken forcibly kissed her against her will on a USO trip to the Middle East, where the two performed shows for troops stationed overseas. (RELATED: Franken Victim: ‘I Called Him Fish Lips’ Because ‘That’s What It Reminded Me Of’ [VIDEO])
“You knew exactly what you were doing,” Tweeden wrote in her column addressing Franken. “You forcibly kissed me without my consent, grabbed my breasts while I was sleeping and had someone take a photo of you doing it, knowing I would see it later, and be ashamed.”
Ref.: http://dailycaller.com/2017/11/16/trump-al-franken-groping-picture-speaks-a-thousand-words/
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Tucker Carlson Tonight 11/16/17
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Congress Spent $17 Million Paying For Its Sexual Harassment Settlements
WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 14: Office of House Employment Counsel lawyer Gloria Lett testifies before the House Administration Committee in the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill November 14, 2017 in Washington, DC. In the wake of recent high-profile accusations of sexual assult and harassment by powerful people in politics, arts, publishing, journalism and other areas, the committee recieved testimony about the need for manditory education and increased compliance to prevent sexual harassment in the Congressional workplace. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The Congressional Office Of Compliance (OOC) released a year-by-year breakdown Wednesday of harassment settlements, including the $17 million awarded to victims throughout the past decade.
The OCC said it decided to release the information regarding payment of awards and settlements regarding all types of harassment due to the mass amounts of recent inquiries. In the released statement, OCC executive director Susan Tsui Grundmann explained that these cases originate from multiple offices inside of the legislative branch, other than the House or the Senate.
“Based on the volume of recent inquiries regarding payment of awards and settlements reached under the CAA, I am releasing these figures beginning with Fiscal Year 1997, up to and including FY 2017,” Grundmann wrote. “A large portion of cases originate from employing offices in the legislative branch other than the House of Representatives or the Senate, and involve various statutory provisions incorporated by the CAA, such as the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act.”
The breakdown shows more than $17 million spent on settling harassment claims throughout the past decade.
The Office of Compliance has released settlement details for fiscal years 2015, 2016 and 2017 pic.twitter.com/gnbfH7YtK1
— Jennifer Shutt (@JenniferShutt) November 16, 2017
Congressional Office of Compliance releases year-by-year breakdown of harassment settlements and awards: pic.twitter.com/vxbezi22wb
— Reid Wilson (@PoliticsReid) November 16, 2017
In the newly released breakdown, harassment payouts averaged almost $400,000 per victim in 2002. In 2017, there has been nearly $1 million in payouts amongst eight victims.
The OCC’s release of harassment settlements comes as various congressional staffers have come forward with allegations of sexual harassment and groping from lawmakers, adding to the cascade of women coming forward against powerful men.
The release also comes the same day that Minnesota Sen. Al Franken was accused of sexually harassing a news anchor multiple times during a USO entertainment tour in the Middle East in 2006.
