In defending Mr. Franken against numerous allegations of sexual misconduct, Ms. Handler admitted during an interview with Buzzfeed News that she’s grabbed people’s genitals “many times” in photographs before and didn’t think that should be considered sexual assault.
“I don’t want to diminish anyone’s legitimate claim of feeling like they’ve been assaulted, because that’s your feeling,” she said. “But I think there is a very big difference of a man putting his arm around you — he’s a comedian, I’ve touched people’s breasts and genitals I can’t imagine how many times in photos. That doesn’t excuse it, but that’s something, that’s not rape. That’s not sexual assault, and it’s not repeated behavior over and over again.”
Ms. Handler, who claimed to be a victim of sexual assault herself, said Mr. Franken’s behavior was a “far different beast” than rape.
“For a person who’s been sexually assaulted, to compare that story to someone putting their arm around you and being silly in a picture, which is what I believe Al Franken was doing, I know him and that’s something he would do — obviously he’ll never do it again — but I don’t think those are the same things,” she said. – READ MORE
[divider][/divider]Billionaire Democrat financier, George Soros, lashed out at one of the Democrats’ top 2020 contenders — and Hillary Clinton’s heir apparent — Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), for her role in Sen. Al Franken’s fall from grace.
In a Huffington Post article clearly aimed at rehabilitating Franken’s public image — something that seems to be a cause celebre among progressives at the moment — writer Amanda Terkel notes that some of Franken’s most prominent critics have fallen out of favor with the party’s godfather, including Gillibrand.
Soros reportedly accused Gillibrand of going after Franken, “whom I admire,” to “improve her chances” at becoming the party’s 2020 presidential contender.
“If standing up for women who have been wronged makes George Soros mad, that’s on him,” Gillibrand said in a statement. “But I won’t hesitate to always do what I think is right. For nearly a year, we have seen countless acts of courage as women and men have spoken hard truths about sexual assault and sexual harassment and demanded accountability.”
That said, a feud with Soros could harm Gillibrand’s long-term chances at holding an office higher than her current one, but only if she was taking money from Soros to begin with. Soros and his organizations prefer more authentic progressives, which explains why he’s bankrolling a public relations campaign for Franken, but also why Gillibrand — who likely has Clinton’s donor list on file — is pushing back. – READ MORE
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