Former Bush press secretary: Franken shouldn’t have resigned

Ari Fleischer, one of former President George W. Bush’s White House press secretaries, said Thursday that Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) should not have resigned amid the sexual misconduct allegations against him.

In a tweet posted shortly after Franken announced that he would step down in the coming weeks, Fleischer argued that the facts surrounding sexual misconduct allegations against the Minnesota Democrat were different than those against Alabama GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore and former Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.).

Franken should not have resigned. His fate should have been left 2the people of MN. Moore, who had sexual contact w a 14-yr old, should drop out. Conyers, who hit on his employees, should have resigned. Franken is a creep who acted inappropriatly, but his facts are different.

— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) December 7, 2017

Calls from Franken’s Democratic colleagues to resign had mounted this week in the wake of allegations that he forcibly kissed and groped one woman in 2006 and inappropriately touched others as he posed for photos with them.

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He said in a speech on the Senate floor Thursday that he could not fully cooperate with an ethics investigation into his conduct while still representing the people of Minnesota, though he added that he believed he would have been cleared in the probe.

Conyers announced earlier this week that he would retire from the House after a string of sexual harassment allegations emerged. 

Moore, who is running in Alabama’s special Senate election, has also faced allegations that he sought sexual and romantic relations with multiple teenage girls when he was in his 30s, including one who says he assaulted her when she was 16. He has denied the allegations and resisted calls from many GOP officials and lawmakers to withdraw from the race.

President Trump endorsed Moore this week, and the Republican National Committee restored its support for his campaign after cutting ties last month.