Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin said there was no political calculation among Democrats to get Sen. Al Franken to resign after sexual harassment allegations.
Durbin, D-Ill., said on CBS’ “Face The Nation” that he rejected Republican claims that Democrats only forced Franken to resign because they wanted to make sure they had the moral high ground if Roy Moore is elected in Alabama. Moore has been accused by multiple women of sexually pursuing them when he was in his 30s and they were in their teens, including one woman who said he groped her when she was 14 and he was 32.
“It was a painful process, because of our personal friendships and relationships with Al and his family,” Durbin said about Franken’s resignation. “There was no political calculation in here. It was just a painful moment when we made a decision, moved forward on the Democratic side. I hope Republicans will face that reality as well.”
Durbin said it was a difficult day when Franken resigned.
Franken had been accused by at least eight women of sexually harassing them or touching them inappropriately.
Durbin warned Republicans they should learn from that dark Democratic day in order to avoid a similar fate with Moore.
“I hope that they will do the right thing in terms of defining their standards and values when it comes to people representing them in Washington,” he said.
