Some Senate Democrats announced Thursday that they were returning or donating campaign contributions from Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) in response to accusations that Sen. Franken groped and kissed radio anchor Leeann Tweeden without her consent on a USO tour.
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) and the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) both called on Democrats to return Franken's donations in light of the accusations, the Hill reports.
Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), who received $30,000 in donations from Franken since 2006 has announced that she is donating that money to Missouri food banks. Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) donated the $25,000 he received from Franken to the Montana Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) also announced that he would be donating the money he’s received from Franken to charities.
I have donated that money to Missouri food banks. https://t.co/ovHcMqQ5tW
— Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc) November 16, 2017
What Al Franken did was inappropriate and unacceptable. He must be held accountable, as should anyone who treats women this way. In light of his actions, I will be donating the $25k from Franken to support the important work of @MT_CADSV.
— Jon Tester (@jontester) November 16, 2017
Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) is donating $20,000 that her campaign received from Franken's political action committee to a group benefiting women veterans in the state, according to the Charlotte Observer.
Abby Finkenauer, a Democratic House candidate running in Iowa, will return the $1,500 she's received from Franken.
Franken has issued an apology for the incident, specifically the photo Tweeden released showing Franken groping her while she slept. Tweeden also says Franken forcibly kissed her, an incident Franken says he remembers differently. He has asked for and agreed to cooperate in an ethics investigation over the incident.