Jimmy Fallon:
“NBC has fired Matt Lauer at the 'Today' show after he was accused of inappropriate sexual behavior,” Fallon continued. “So if you’re wondering where in the world is Matt Lauer, he’s probably at a bar with Charlie Rose.”
Funny? Yes. But it does make one wonder.
The Corporate world:
Gone
Gone and Gone
The Government swamp:
This is a big deal. They set up a $17 million taxpayer-funded slush fund (which no one in Congress seems to know about) to pay off the accusers for their sexual transgressions.
This is a big deal. They set up a $17 million taxpayer-funded slush fund (which no one in Congress seems to know about) to pay off the accusers for their sexual transgressions.
This should be a major concern for everyone!
Still a Congressman Still a Senator
One of these two paid off the accuser with taxpayer dollars and conducted staff meetings in his underwear. The other was stupid enough to allow himself to be photographed touching a women's breasts! Yet both refuse to resign.
So Democrats...I don't want to hear any more bullshit hype about what a slimeball Roy Moore is.
So Democrats...I don't want to hear any more bullshit hype about what a slimeball Roy Moore is.
Because if you're right he'll be right at home in Congress!
What's the magic number here...5...10...15?
Army vet is the fifth woman to accuse Al Franken of groping
A fifth woman has spoken out to accuse Sen. Al Franken of groping - this time an Army veteran.
Stephanie Kemplin, 41, says she attended a USO tour event in Kuwait featuring the then-comedian in December 2003. After the show, the Ohio resident waited in line to get a picture with Franken because she was a big fan of Saturday Night Live growing up.
But when it came her turn to pose with the funnyman, she says he reached around and grabbed her breast.
'When he put his arm around me, he groped my right breast. He kept his hand all the way over on my breast,' Kemplin, who was 27 at the time, told CNN. 'I've never had a man put their arm around me and then cup my breast. So he was holding my breast on the side.'
A fifth woman has come out to accuse Sen. Al Franken of groping. Stephanie Kemplin, left, says Franken groped her during this picture in 2003, during a USO tour event in Kuwait
Kemplin said the touching lasted for five to 10 seconds before she turned her body to move his hand from her breast.
'I remember clenching up and how you just feel yourself flushed,' she said. 'And I remember thinking - is he going to move his hand? Was it an accident? Was he going to move his hand? He never moved his hand.'
She added: 'It was long enough that he should have known if it was an accident. I'm very confident saying that.'
The photo, which Kemplin shared with CNN, shows her smiling awkwardly, her body turned in towards Franken and her cheek pressed up against his face.
Kemplin says she doesn't remember telling any of her fellow soldiers about the incident, but she did tell multiple members of her family and her ex-boyfriend, who she started dating after the two returned from the Middle East.
CNN interviewed Kemplin's sister and the ex-boyfriend and they told the outlet what they remembered of the incident.
'I just remember her telling me that he grabbed her breast and that she was so shocked about it,' her older sister said. 'My sister is pretty bold and assertive and she said that she didn't know what to do.'
'I know that I've let a lot of people down,' said Minnesota Sen. Al Franken said in a press conference on Monday
Her ex-boyfriend says he doesn't remember all of the details of the Franken encounter but says he does remember his ex-saying 'he went to put his arm around her and copped a feel'.
Kemplin said she thinks what Franken did is especially heinous considering her work serving her country.
'I was in a war zone... You were on a USO tour -- are you trying to boost the morale of the troops or are you trying to boost your own?' she said. 'I just feel so sorry for that young girl in that picture.'
Kemplin also revealed that she was sexually assaulted by a fellow soldier just months before her run-in with Franken. She says the assault happened when she was sharing a tent with a specialist.
The Army investigated and determined that the specialist had engaged in 'totally inappropriate behavior' but was not guilty of 'indecent assault'. Kemplin says she was told that she was 'responsible' for the encounter for letting the man get close to her.
'I was really pissed off. It was not right,' Chambers said. 'My reaction was: when is it ever the victim's fault?'
Kemplin is the fifth woman to come forward with such allegations against Franken, the junior senator from Minnesota and a high-profile Democrat. She now works as a Medicaid investigator and says she's a registered Republican who voted for Donald Trump during the election.
On Monday, Franken apologized for his behavior but said he would not be stepping down. He said he will cooperate with an ethics investigation.
'I am going to try to learn from my mistakes,' the Minnesota Democratic senator told reporters at the Capitol in his first televised press conference since the allegations came to light.
Kemplin was the second woman to accuse Franken of groping her during a USO tour before he went into politics.
Leann Tweeden (pictured), spoke out about an incident involving Franken that happened in 2006. Tweeden accused Franken of forcibly kissing her and putting his hands on her breasts
Lindsay Menz (pictured) alleges Franken pulled her in close and squeezed her buttocks while they posed for this photo at the Minnesota State Fair in 2010
Three of the accusers said that Franken grabbed their buttocks while taking photos with them during campaign events.
Franken told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that he doesn't remember the photos, but such groping is 'not something I would intentionally do.'
The first woman to come forward was Los Angeles radio news anchor Leeann Tweeden.
She released a photo this month showing the then-comedian Franken grinning while reaching out as if to grope her breasts as she slept on a military aircraft during a USO tour in 2006.
Franken told Minnesota Public Radio on Sunday the photo was 'inexcusable', but he declined to explain it further.
'What my intention was doesn't matter. What matters is that I am chained to that photo,' Franken said.
'She ... didn't have any ability to consent. She had every right to feel violated by that photo. I have apologized to her and I was very grateful that she accepted my apology.'
Tweeden said Franken also forcibly kissed her while rehearsing for a USO performance, but Franken has said he has a different recollection of the rehearsal.
On Sunday Franken told WCCO in Minneapolis he had no intention of stepping down
Two other women, speaking anonymously to The Huffington Post, said Franken grabbed their buttocks during political events in 2007 and 2008, during his first Senate campaign.
'I don't remember these photographs. I don't,' he said Sunday, estimating he has taken 'tens of thousands' of photos with other people over the years. 'This is not something I would intentionally do.'
Franken faces a Senate ethics investigation - which he welcomed in the wake of Tweeden's allegation - though it's unclear when that review may begin. Franken, who hasn't faced widespread calls to resign, said he will fully cooperate.
Franken sidestepped questions on Sunday about whether the allegations would make him less effective in the Senate. He noted he has apologized to women who have felt disrespected and 'to everyone I have let down.'
'I think this will take some time,' he told Minnesota Public Radio. 'I am trying to handle this in a way that adds to an important conversation. And to be a better public servant and a better man. That is what my goal is.'
Franken came to the Senate after a months-long recount gave him a 312-vote victory in his 2008 election. He immediately tried to distance himself from his decades of professional comedy, which included off-color jokes about rape and disparaging women. He also avoided national reporters.
Dozens of women who've worked with Franken, including former Senate staffers and women who worked with him on NBC's 'Saturday Night Live,' signed statements supporting Franken following Tweeden's allegations.
