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Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) plans to resign his seat on Jan. 2 in response to multiple allegations that he touched women inappropriately, his office confirmed Wednesday.
The decision followed Franken’s announcement earlier this month that he would leave Capitol Hill amid growing controversy over his behavior toward women before entering politics. The two-term senator, who has denied allegations from more than a half-dozen women that he touched them inappropriately or made unwanted sexual advances, will be replaced by Minnesota Lt. Gov. Tina Smith (D).
Franken is one of seven lawmakers who have resigned or said they would not run for reelection after facing allegations of sexual harassment or misconduct.
A spokesman for Franken confirmed his planned date of resignation Wednesday after Franken delivered a floor speech about education policy, one of several addresses he said he would give before leaving public office.
“When I leave the Senate in a few weeks, I’ll continue trying to be an educated citizen, and an advocate, and an activist,” Franken said in remarks to an empty Senate.
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton listens to Lt. Gov. Tina Smith during a news conference, as she was named to replace fellow Democrat Al Franken in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2017, in St. Paul, Minn. (Brian Peterson/Star Tribune via AP)
Announcing his plans to retire on Dec. 7, Franken struck a defiant tone.
“I know there’s been a very different picture of me painted over the last few weeks, but I know who I really am,” he said then, adding, “I know in my heart that nothing I have done as a senator — nothing — has brought dishonor on this institution.”
Franken, once considered a rising star among Democrats, made a jab at President Trump and former Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore, both of whom have been accused of sexual misconduct. Moore was defeated last week in a special election.
“There is some irony in the fact that I am leaving while a man who has bragged on tape about his history of sexual assault sits in the Oval Office, and a man who has repeatedly preyed on young girls campaigns for the Senate with the full support of his party,” Franken said in his Dec. 7 speech.
Franken’s decision to remain on Capitol Hill through December allowed him to cast several important votes, including in opposition to the Republican tax plan that received final approval from the House on Wednesday.
He has complimented Smith, calling her a “dedicated public servant” and the best choice to fill his seat. “I look forward to working with her on ensuring a speedy and seamless transition,” Franken said recently in a statement.
Franken is expected to speak at least once more on the Senate floor before his resignation, a spokesman said.
David Weigel contributed to this report.
Read more at PowerPost
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President TrumpDonald John TrumpHouse Democrat slams Donald Trump Jr. for ‘serious case of amnesia’ after testimony Skier Lindsey Vonn: I don’t want to represent Trump at Olympics Poll: 4 in 10 Republicans think senior Trump advisers had improper dealings with Russia MORE on Wednesday issued his first commuted sentence for a federal prisoner, freeing Sholom Rubashkin, the former owner of the country’s largest kosher meat-processing plant who in 2009 was sentenced to 27 years in prison for a litany of financial crimes.
The commutation had bipartisan support from lawmakers and had become a cause among many leading voices in the legal community, petitioning the Obama and Trump administrations to draw attention to a sentence they said was wildly disproportionate to the crime that had been committed.
Rubashkin, a father of 10, will have served eight years of his sentence. The commutation is not a presidential pardon — Rubashkin’s conviction will stand, as will his terms of release and the restitution payments he will be obliged to pay.
Still, the commutation will clear Rubashkin of the remaining 19 years of a sentence that had been condemned by politicians on the left and the right as cruel and unusual.
“The President’s review of Mr. Rubashkin’s case and commutation decision were based on expressions of support from Members of Congress and a broad cross-section of the legal community,” the White House said in a statement.
“A bipartisan group of more than 100 former high-ranking and distinguished Department of Justice (DOJ) officials, prosecutors, judges, and legal scholars have expressed concerns about the evidentiary proceedings in Mr. Rubashkin’s case and the severity of his sentence. Additionally, more than 30 current Members of Congress have written letters expressing support for review of Mr. Rubashkin’s case.”
Rubashkin was the CEO of a kosher meatpacking plant in Iowa, the largest in the country. Federal law enforcement raided the company in November 2008 and Rubashkin was found guilty of bank fraud and money laundering. Hundreds of Rubashkin’s employees were arrested for working in the country illegally.
Scores of the country’s leading legal experts, including four attorneys general, wrote to Trump earlier this year asking that Rubaskin’s sentence be commuted, arguing that the 27-year sentence was excessive because he was a first-time, non-violent offender.
“Essentially, Mr. Rubashkin was convicted of fraud offenses stemming from inflating collateral to obtain a higher line of credit for Agriprocessors, his father’s kosher meat business, and for paying some cattle owners 11 days late,” the lawyers wrote.
“Mr. Rubashkin is a devoted husband and father, a deeply religious man who simply doesn’t deserve a sentence of this length, or anything remotely close to it,” the letter continued. “Indeed, his sentence is far longer than the median sentences for murder, kidnapping, sexual abuse, child pornography and numerous other offenses exponentially more serious than his.”
This is the first time Trump has used the executive power to commute a federal prisoner’s sentence, although earlier this year he pardoned Joe Arpaio, the controversial former sheriff of Maricopa County, Ariz.
Arpaio had been convicted of criminal contempt for disobeying a Justice Department edict against racially profiling Latinos.
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