Kirsten Gillibrand Has No Regrets About Al Franken Ouster After New Yorker Profile
WON’T BACK DOWN
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) stood by her decision Monday to push for her former colleague Al Franken’s resignation after the publication of a New Yorker profile that questions his guilt in a series of sexual-misconduct claims. During a town-hall event hosted by Mic, Gillibrand answered a question about her role in his ouster by criticizing writer Jane Mayer for only focusing on one of the allegations against Franken. “He had eight credible allegations against him, two since he was senator, and the eighth one happened to be a congressional staffer,” she said. “So no, I do not have any regrets.”
“Listen, Al Franken had every right to do whatever he wanted,” Gillibrand added when pressed further by the moderator. “If he wanted to wait for his ethics committee investigation, that’s his decision. If he wanted to wait until his next election—his decision. My only decision was whether or not I chose to remain silent. My decision is whether or not I chose to carry his water and defend him with my silence.”
Gillibrand, who was the first Democratic senator to call for Franken to resign, makes a similar point in the New Yorker article. “I’d do it again today,” she told Mayer, adding, “If a few wealthy donors are angry about that, it’s on them.”