Democratic presidential candidate Kirsten Gillibrand (KEER'-sten JIHL'-uh-brand) says that she doesn't regret calling for Al Franken's resignation from the Senate and that female senators are being blamed for his departure in a way their male colleagues aren't.
Speaking at a Bustle Digital Group event in Manhattan on Monday, the New York senator was asked about a New Yorker article questioning some of the sexual misconduct allegations against Franken.
Gillibrand offered her strongest defense yet of her actions, saying the story focused only on the first allegation made by Leeann Tweeden and not on seven others against Franken.
U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, speaks at the AARP Presidential Forum at the Waterfront Convention Center in Bettendorf, Iowa on Tuesday, July 16, 2019. (Olivia SunThe Des Moines Register via AP)
She added that, before his resignation, female senators were asked repeatedly about Franken.
She said Monday: "Who is being held accountable for Al Franken's decision to resign? Women senators, including me. It's outrageous."
FILE - In this July 12, 2019, file photo, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., speaks at a town hall meeting during a campaign stop in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Plagued by anemic polling and fundraising, many 2020 Democratic presidential campaigns have fallen into a spiral of perceived struggles that become increasingly self-fulfilling. That includes Gillibrand’s championing of women’s rights, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee’s focus on climate change and former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper’s pitch as a principled moderate. (AP PhotoCarlos Osorio, File)
