Jonathan Alter, an MSNBC analyst and columnist for The Daily Beast, minimized one woman’s sexual harassment allegations against Sen. Al Franken on Thursday.
Alter wrote on Twitter, “Sorry, but a kiss on the cheek is still a kiss on the cheek, even if a little wet.”
Sorry, but a kiss on the cheek is still a kiss on the cheek, even if a little wet. This kind of charge gets conflated with super serious charges against Moore, Trump, Weinstein, Conyers, Lauer etc, all of whom—unlike @SenFranken —abused their power. https://t.co/T2fvSURIER
— Jonathan Alter (@jonathanalter) November 30, 2017
He was referring to the most recent allegation against the Democratic senator, in which a former elected official said Franken tried to give her a “wet, open-mouth kiss” but she was able to turn her head away at the last second. It is misleading to refer to it as a “kiss on the cheek,” as the woman makes clear that Franken was trying to kiss her on the lips.
Alter claimed that Franken didn’t abuse his power. While Franken wasn’t a senator at the time, he was still a very famous comedian and was only a few months away from announcing his senate run.
The woman’s accusation is strikingly similar to that of TV anchor Leeann Tweeden, who said Franken forcibly kissed her and shoved his tongue in her mouth while rehearsing a skit for a USO tour.