Former Democratic Sen. of Minnesota Al Franken said he hasn’t ruled out running for office again, after resigning when more than half a dozen women accused him of sexual misconduct.
“Well, see, if I say anything there you will put it in the story. I don’t know. I haven’t ruled it out, and I haven’t ruled it in,” Franken said on Monday in his first public interview since he resigned in January.
“I miss the whole job. I loved that job, I loved the job as Senator … It was very meaningful for me and bittersweet, I would like to still be there,” Franken said in the CBS interview Monday after an appearance at Leech Lake Indian Reservation in Minnesota. While in the Indian Affairs Committee, Franken secured $12 million in funding for a new high school facility on the reservation.
Franken’s resignation and departure has been difficult for both him and his wife, Franni Franken, she admits.
“It has been a challenge, but we do get to spend more time together,” she said, adding with a laugh, “I think there are times that both us would like spend less time together.”
Franken officially resigned in January after #MeToo allegations from seven women. The first woman, Leeann Tweeden, accused Franken of forcibly kissing her and groping her on a USO tour in 2006. Others said he sexually mistreated them when he was serving in the U.S. Senate.
“I was shocked. I was upset. But in responding to their claims, I wanted to be respectful of that broader conversation because all women deserve to be heard and their experience taken seriously,” he said in his speech.
“I’m giving up my seat, but I’m not giving up my voice,” Franken added.
Including the appearance at the Minnesota reservation, he’s also been giving Democrats advice on how to question Judge Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation process. (RELATED: Al Franken Gives Democrats Advice On Questioning New SCOTUS Pick Despite Famously Flubbing With Past SCOTUS Pick)
Franken — who got visibly heated during a viral exchange while interviewing then-Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch — offered advice for interviewing current Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who he admits is “is a smart guy.”
He posted 25 questions he wants to ask him on his Facebook page July 13 while admitting that he can’t be there to ask them himself. Franken even went so far as to assume what Kavanaugh’s answers would be.
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