Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand defends calling for Sen. Al Franken's resignation
Democratic presidential Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand says if Democratic donors are angry that she stood by Sen. Al Franken's accusers 'that's on them.'
"View" host Whoopi Goldberg derided the #MeToo movement's rush to judgment and apparent aversion toward due process for former Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., before his resignation in 2018.
"That's a witch hunt because the MeToo movement came up and everything everybody said -- there was no space to say 'well, wait a minute, let's talk about this,'" she said.
She and her co-hosts were discussing a New Yorker story in which Franken said he regretted his decision to resign amid multiple sexual misconduct allegations.
"It was kind of a political hit in many ways," fellow comedian Joy Behar said. She pointed to Franken's efforts in "questioning" former Attorney General Jeff Sessions. "He was a big target," she added.
GILLIBRAND ON CALLING FOR FRANKEN TO RESIGN: 'I WAS NOT GOING TO REMAIN SILENT'
She went on to claim that radio host Leann Tweeden's story had "holes" in it, although she clarified she wasn't trying to argue that she was lying.
Behar also reflected on Franken's apology, indicating that it was a bad decision because Trump has succeeded in not apologizing in response to allegations against him. "He apologized immediately, which didn't work... Did Trump ever apologize for any of these sexual assaults he's been alleged to have done? No," she said.
Co-host Meghan McCain said that she was fine with due process but also -- pointing to allegations against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh -- cautioned against political bias in pushing for due process.
"I don't think that MeToo and sexual assault should be about which party you vote in," she said, after criticizing the way New Yorker writer Jane Mayer handled allegations against Franken and Kavanaugh.
When McCain pointed to specific allegations against Franken, Behar claimed one was uncorroborated and suggested the other was overblown.
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"It was nowhere near her actual breasts," Behar said, referring to the allegation from Tweeden. Tweeden famously kicked off allegations against Franken when she released a photo in which he appeared to be touching her military jacket near her breasts as she slept.
"She was wearing a flak jacket. The problem with that was she was sleeping and he admits that was wrong," Behar argued.
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