WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.379 Welcome to the Deep Dive. We're the show where 00:00:02.379 --> 00:00:06.620 we grab a, well, a monumental career, spread 00:00:06.620 --> 00:00:09.220 out all the source material, and really dig into 00:00:09.220 --> 00:00:11.980 the surprising facts, the context you actually 00:00:11.980 --> 00:00:14.359 need. Yeah, what's behind the headlines. Exactly. 00:00:14.660 --> 00:00:18.179 And today, we're deep diving into Alan Stewart 00:00:18.179 --> 00:00:20.719 Franken. I mean, here's a figure whose whole 00:00:20.719 --> 00:00:22.800 professional life, it almost feels like some 00:00:22.800 --> 00:00:25.460 kind of, you know, sociological experiment. Right. 00:00:25.519 --> 00:00:27.539 Like what happens when you take this Harvard 00:00:27.539 --> 00:00:31.879 educated Pulitzer nominee, actually. Grammy winning 00:00:31.879 --> 00:00:34.939 satire icon. Right, right. A comedy giant. And 00:00:34.939 --> 00:00:37.219 drop him straight onto the Senate floor. It's 00:00:37.219 --> 00:00:39.159 quite the premise. It really is. And the story 00:00:39.159 --> 00:00:41.759 itself, well, it's remarkable, but also like 00:00:41.759 --> 00:00:44.219 genuinely contradictory, isn't it? Completely. 00:00:44.259 --> 00:00:46.899 You've got one of the original writers for Saturday 00:00:46.899 --> 00:00:49.039 Night Live. I mean, the creative force behind 00:00:49.039 --> 00:00:51.219 some really some of the most influential political 00:00:51.219 --> 00:00:54.039 comedy of the last, what, 50 years. Easily. And 00:00:54.039 --> 00:00:56.280 then he somehow successfully transitions into 00:00:56.280 --> 00:00:59.140 this role as, oh, well, a serious policy driven 00:00:59.140 --> 00:01:03.320 legislator. this historic election win. Barely 00:01:03.320 --> 00:01:05.719 historic. Incredibly close. Incredibly close. 00:01:05.840 --> 00:01:10.900 Yes. And yet his political journey just crashes 00:01:10.900 --> 00:01:14.739 and burns, ends in this really rapid, controversial 00:01:14.739 --> 00:01:17.379 resignation right in the middle of the, you know. 00:01:17.900 --> 00:01:20.159 The seismic shifts of the hashtag Me Too movement. 00:01:20.299 --> 00:01:22.859 Yeah, it was fast. So our mission for you, the 00:01:22.859 --> 00:01:25.879 learner, is really to unpack that full, complex 00:01:25.879 --> 00:01:28.480 story of Al Franken. We're going to trace his 00:01:28.480 --> 00:01:31.879 path from being a young guy idolizing these anti 00:01:31.879 --> 00:01:34.040 -establishment comedians. Lenny Bruce, Stick 00:01:34.040 --> 00:01:37.359 Gregory. Exactly. Through decades spent shaping 00:01:37.359 --> 00:01:40.280 comedy and political activism, which then leads 00:01:40.280 --> 00:01:43.200 to, well, one of the most... razor thin, legally 00:01:43.200 --> 00:01:45.700 fought over election victories in American history. 00:01:45.819 --> 00:01:47.500 But Nailbiter doesn't even cover it. Not even 00:01:47.500 --> 00:01:49.280 close. And look, we're not going to shy away 00:01:49.280 --> 00:01:51.700 from that controversial ending either, or importantly, 00:01:51.900 --> 00:01:53.959 the sort of reevaluation that's happened since 00:01:53.959 --> 00:01:55.659 he left office. No, we have to cover that. And 00:01:55.659 --> 00:01:57.260 the source material we've got, it actually gives 00:01:57.260 --> 00:01:59.579 us a pretty clear view across all three major 00:01:59.579 --> 00:02:02.040 phases of his life, right? The comedy guy, the 00:02:02.040 --> 00:02:04.819 writer, then the progressive activist and author, 00:02:04.920 --> 00:02:08.259 and finally, the dedicated senator. So we'll 00:02:08.259 --> 00:02:11.240 be looking at how those traits, the ones forged 00:02:11.240 --> 00:02:14.219 in that, you know, cutthroat TV world, how they 00:02:14.219 --> 00:02:17.000 both maybe prepared him for Washington, but also 00:02:17.000 --> 00:02:19.939 ultimately perhaps doomed his time there. Yeah, 00:02:20.060 --> 00:02:22.740 it's a fascinating interplay. Okay, let's unpack 00:02:22.740 --> 00:02:25.319 this, starting right at the beginning. The architecture 00:02:25.319 --> 00:02:31.360 of the man and that launch pad, 30 Rock. So Alan 00:02:31.360 --> 00:02:34.389 Stewart Franken. Born in New York City, 1951. 00:02:34.909 --> 00:02:36.629 But the sources, they're really quick to say, 00:02:36.669 --> 00:02:38.449 look, he's a Minnesotan. Right. Moved there when 00:02:38.449 --> 00:02:40.469 he was four, settled in St. Louis Park. Yeah. 00:02:40.629 --> 00:02:43.289 But what really jumps out right away is this 00:02:43.289 --> 00:02:46.669 kind of contrast between his, like, intellectual 00:02:46.669 --> 00:02:49.569 seriousness and where he ended up career -wise, 00:02:49.669 --> 00:02:52.030 at least initially. That's a perfect place to 00:02:52.030 --> 00:02:54.069 start, actually, because he wasn't just, you 00:02:54.069 --> 00:02:56.129 know, the funny guy in the drama club. He graduated 00:02:56.129 --> 00:02:58.530 from the Blake School back in 69, and while he 00:02:58.530 --> 00:03:00.289 was there, he was disciplined enough to be on 00:03:00.289 --> 00:03:02.599 the wrestling team. Wrestling. Huh. Didn't know 00:03:02.599 --> 00:03:04.979 that. Yeah. And that that sort of competitive 00:03:04.979 --> 00:03:07.159 discipline streak, it definitely carried through 00:03:07.159 --> 00:03:09.659 to his academic side. He went to Harvard College, 00:03:09.979 --> 00:03:12.560 graduated cum laude in political science in 73. 00:03:12.939 --> 00:03:16.599 OK, so poli sci, that's key. It's crucial because 00:03:16.599 --> 00:03:19.740 it means he had these really deep roots in political 00:03:19.740 --> 00:03:23.439 theory, political structure, long before he ever 00:03:23.439 --> 00:03:25.919 wrote a single joke for TV. And you can see how 00:03:25.919 --> 00:03:28.539 that grounding kind of shaped the comedy he liked, 00:03:28.599 --> 00:03:30.460 right? Yeah. The sources mentioned his heroes 00:03:30.460 --> 00:03:32.979 weren't just guys telling punchlines. No, not 00:03:32.979 --> 00:03:35.520 at all. They were the figures who challenged 00:03:35.520 --> 00:03:38.259 power. Specifically, people like Dick Gregory 00:03:38.259 --> 00:03:42.479 and Lenny Bruce. Bruce especially. I mean, he 00:03:42.479 --> 00:03:45.819 weaponized humor, didn't he, to just expose corruption, 00:03:45.979 --> 00:03:49.639 hypocrisy. Exactly. He saw comedy not just as, 00:03:49.719 --> 00:03:52.580 you know, escapism, but as a form of, well, moral 00:03:52.580 --> 00:03:54.979 and political commentary. He and his writing 00:03:54.979 --> 00:03:57.240 partner, Tom Davis, they were partners for a 00:03:57.240 --> 00:03:59.330 long time. A long time, yeah. They actually honed 00:03:59.330 --> 00:04:01.270 that kind of politically charged satire at the 00:04:01.270 --> 00:04:03.069 Brave New Workshop Theater right there in Minneapolis. 00:04:03.469 --> 00:04:05.789 Ah, so they were practicing this deep political 00:04:05.789 --> 00:04:08.250 critique way before they hit the national stage. 00:04:08.490 --> 00:04:10.610 Way before. And that partnership, Franken and 00:04:10.610 --> 00:04:13.169 Davis, that was absolutely integral to the birth 00:04:13.169 --> 00:04:15.550 of Saturday Night Live. Absolutely. When they 00:04:15.550 --> 00:04:18.670 joined SNL in 75, they weren't just like hired 00:04:18.670 --> 00:04:21.439 hands. They were the core. Original writers, 00:04:21.620 --> 00:04:23.959 sometimes performers, too. Foundational. And 00:04:23.959 --> 00:04:25.680 it's kind of wild to think about the money back 00:04:25.680 --> 00:04:28.480 then. The sources confirm it. Their shared salary 00:04:28.480 --> 00:04:31.000 for both of them in that first groundbreaking 00:04:31.000 --> 00:04:37.420 season, just $350 a week. $350. Between two guys 00:04:37.420 --> 00:04:41.519 in New York City. I know. It was truly a ground 00:04:41.519 --> 00:04:44.839 floor operation, right? Built on chaos and, well. 00:04:45.290 --> 00:04:48.189 Flashes of genius. And they quickly became architects 00:04:48.189 --> 00:04:50.269 of that whole show's structure. And his track 00:04:50.269 --> 00:04:52.189 record there, it's pretty undeniable. Over his 00:04:52.189 --> 00:04:54.689 whole SNL career, he had, what, 15 Emmy nominations? 00:04:54.889 --> 00:04:57.670 15 nominations, yeah. And won five Emmys for 00:04:57.670 --> 00:04:59.589 writing and producing. So he wasn't just there. 00:04:59.670 --> 00:05:01.709 He was actively shaping the cultural output. 00:05:01.910 --> 00:05:04.750 Definitely. And his work, it went from the totally 00:05:04.750 --> 00:05:08.129 absurd to something almost therapeutic. We probably 00:05:08.129 --> 00:05:09.589 need to talk about Stuart Smalley for a second. 00:05:09.670 --> 00:05:12.259 Oh, yeah. Stuart Smalley. The soft -spoken, self 00:05:12.259 --> 00:05:14.839 -help character. I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, 00:05:14.899 --> 00:05:17.199 and doggone it, people like me. That's such an 00:05:17.199 --> 00:05:20.060 iconic catchphrase. It is. And the depth of Smalley 00:05:20.060 --> 00:05:21.939 is actually kind of fascinating. People often 00:05:21.939 --> 00:05:24.339 say Franken created him to gently, you know, 00:05:24.339 --> 00:05:26.740 poke fun at the 12 -step recovery movement. Right, 00:05:26.779 --> 00:05:29.519 satirize it. But sources close to him also point 00:05:29.519 --> 00:05:31.660 out that he drew a lot from his own experiences, 00:05:31.939 --> 00:05:35.120 his own therapy, his own self -doubt. Ah, interesting. 00:05:35.279 --> 00:05:38.019 So it wasn't just mockery. No, I think the character 00:05:38.019 --> 00:05:40.540 really resonated because it tapped into genuine 00:05:40.540 --> 00:05:43.879 human insecurity, but filtered through his, you 00:05:43.879 --> 00:05:46.540 know, signature satirical lens. It wasn't just 00:05:46.540 --> 00:05:48.680 a funny voice. There were layers there. He also 00:05:48.680 --> 00:05:50.839 did that whole meta comedy thing that was big 00:05:50.839 --> 00:05:53.600 back then, didn't he? Declaring the 1980s the 00:05:53.600 --> 00:05:56.019 Al Franken decade. Oh, yeah. The Al Franken decade, 00:05:56.120 --> 00:05:58.959 which was funny, mostly because of the just the 00:05:58.959 --> 00:06:02.959 sheer brazen ego it projected. Totally. But if 00:06:02.959 --> 00:06:06.449 you want the one line. that really cemented his 00:06:06.449 --> 00:06:09.470 place in comedy writing history, a line people 00:06:09.470 --> 00:06:11.889 still quote, maybe controversially. Has to be 00:06:11.889 --> 00:06:13.949 from Point Counterpoint, right? Absolutely. The 00:06:13.949 --> 00:06:16.389 sources explicitly confirm Franken wrote that 00:06:16.389 --> 00:06:19.329 famous line Dan Aykroyd delivered, Jane, you 00:06:19.329 --> 00:06:23.290 ignorant slut. Wow. Okay. That perfectly captures 00:06:23.290 --> 00:06:25.810 the whole vibe of that segment, doesn't it? Combative, 00:06:25.870 --> 00:06:28.490 totally politically incorrect, but somehow hilarious 00:06:28.490 --> 00:06:31.370 at the time. Exactly. You know, even though he 00:06:31.370 --> 00:06:33.350 was his core pillar of the show for 20 years, 00:06:33.449 --> 00:06:37.230 75 to 95, basically. Yeah, a long run. His time 00:06:37.230 --> 00:06:39.329 there was punctuated by conflict, wasn't it? 00:06:39.970 --> 00:06:42.350 Which kind of seems to reflect that competitive 00:06:42.350 --> 00:06:44.290 nature we talked about earlier. There were two 00:06:44.290 --> 00:06:47.110 big departures, both tied to power struggles. 00:06:47.350 --> 00:06:49.990 Yeah, the first one back in 1980 really shows 00:06:49.990 --> 00:06:53.939 his willingness to. bite the hand that feeds 00:06:53.939 --> 00:06:56.300 him, so to speak. What happened there? He did 00:06:56.300 --> 00:06:59.439 this weekend update commentary piece called A 00:06:59.439 --> 00:07:03.019 Limo for a Lamo. And it was just a direct, absolutely 00:07:03.019 --> 00:07:05.939 brutal attack on the NBC president at the time, 00:07:05.959 --> 00:07:07.459 Fred Silverman, who was pretty controversial 00:07:07.459 --> 00:07:09.540 himself. He went on weekend update and called 00:07:09.540 --> 00:07:11.720 the head of the network. A total unequivocal 00:07:11.720 --> 00:07:14.379 failure. Yeah. Used charts and everything to 00:07:14.379 --> 00:07:16.560 show NBC's terrible ratings right there on air. 00:07:16.699 --> 00:07:20.060 Wow. Okay. Didn't pull punches. Not at all. And 00:07:20.060 --> 00:07:22.699 the consequence was immediate. Silverman blocked 00:07:22.699 --> 00:07:25.160 Lorne Michaels' plan to make Franken the new 00:07:25.160 --> 00:07:28.439 show producer. So Franken left, along with Lorne. 00:07:28.480 --> 00:07:31.699 Ah, okay. So that competitive spirit, that willingness 00:07:31.699 --> 00:07:35.519 to just challenge authority publicly, that definitely 00:07:35.519 --> 00:07:37.620 shows up later in his political career. Absolutely. 00:07:37.699 --> 00:07:40.720 It's a defining trait. And his second exit in 00:07:40.720 --> 00:07:43.980 1995 was just as messy. He basically left in 00:07:43.980 --> 00:07:46.139 protest because he didn't get the weekend update 00:07:46.139 --> 00:07:47.920 anchor job. You thought he'd earned it, right? 00:07:48.019 --> 00:07:50.480 And they gave it to Norm MacDonald instead. Exactly. 00:07:50.500 --> 00:07:52.980 It was a very public power struggle over that 00:07:52.980 --> 00:07:54.699 coveted chair. It just illustrates that whole 00:07:54.699 --> 00:07:57.139 internal dynamic. He was brilliant, competitive, 00:07:57.620 --> 00:08:00.540 fiercely loyal to his people. But, yeah, maybe 00:08:00.540 --> 00:08:02.660 his pride could be a stumbling block. Yeah, seems 00:08:02.660 --> 00:08:05.360 like it. But amidst all that chaos of 70s and 00:08:05.360 --> 00:08:07.879 80s TV, there was also this moment of, like, 00:08:08.490 --> 00:08:11.269 personal reckoning the sources mentioned he admitted 00:08:11.269 --> 00:08:13.470 to using illegal drugs back then yeah cocaine 00:08:13.470 --> 00:08:15.550 among other things while working on the show 00:08:15.550 --> 00:08:18.069 which you know wasn't uncommon in that scene 00:08:18.069 --> 00:08:21.689 at that time true but he also clearly stated 00:08:21.689 --> 00:08:25.709 he stopped completely stopped after his colleague 00:08:25.709 --> 00:08:28.329 john belushi died from that fetal overdose right 00:08:28.329 --> 00:08:31.300 that's a really powerful moment of like self 00:08:31.300 --> 00:08:33.700 -correction, isn't it? It shows this pivot towards 00:08:33.700 --> 00:08:36.299 personal seriousness, maybe moving away from 00:08:36.299 --> 00:08:38.379 some of the more destructive parts of the entertainment 00:08:38.379 --> 00:08:41.500 world. And it kind of foreshadows that huge shift 00:08:41.500 --> 00:08:43.340 towards political responsibility that was coming 00:08:43.340 --> 00:08:47.419 up next in Act Two. Exactly. That pivot to seriousness, 00:08:47.639 --> 00:08:50.200 it wasn't just personal. It really accelerated 00:08:50.200 --> 00:08:53.279 into his whole professional identity. Act Two, 00:08:53.460 --> 00:08:55.759 this is where we see him transition from writing 00:08:55.759 --> 00:08:58.980 sketches to being a full -time political commentator. 00:08:59.080 --> 00:09:00.960 Right. And he's using that comedic voice. But 00:09:00.960 --> 00:09:03.779 now it's like a razor sharp tool for progressive 00:09:03.779 --> 00:09:06.440 activism. He totally transformed himself. He 00:09:06.440 --> 00:09:08.679 started taking on specific targets, mostly on 00:09:08.679 --> 00:09:10.960 the right, in print. And his books, they weren't 00:09:10.960 --> 00:09:13.340 just funny throwaway. No, they were bestsellers. 00:09:13.340 --> 00:09:15.659 New York Times bestsellers. Yeah. Titles like 00:09:15.659 --> 00:09:19.120 Rush Limbaugh is a big fat idiot and other observations 00:09:19.120 --> 00:09:23.320 back in 96. And then lies and the lying liars 00:09:23.320 --> 00:09:26.120 who tell them. A fair and balanced look at the 00:09:26.120 --> 00:09:29.730 right in 2003. These were seriously researched, 00:09:29.970 --> 00:09:32.690 fact -checked political critiques just wrapped 00:09:32.690 --> 00:09:35.149 in his trademark satire. They were detailed. 00:09:35.190 --> 00:09:37.509 And what's really fascinating and kind of speaks 00:09:37.509 --> 00:09:40.250 to his unique ability to bridge that gap between 00:09:40.250 --> 00:09:43.440 serious policy and entertainment. He won two 00:09:43.440 --> 00:09:46.100 Grammys for these books. Two Grammys, yeah. For 00:09:46.100 --> 00:09:47.860 the audiobooks, which he read himself. Best comedy 00:09:47.860 --> 00:09:49.860 album for one, best spoken word album for the 00:09:49.860 --> 00:09:51.679 other. That's not typical for political books. 00:09:51.799 --> 00:09:53.399 Not at all. It just highlights that he'd found 00:09:53.399 --> 00:09:55.580 this unique sweet spot. He could make serious 00:09:55.580 --> 00:09:58.919 political arguments digestible, memorable, even 00:09:58.919 --> 00:10:00.879 funny enough for the entertainment industry to 00:10:00.879 --> 00:10:02.700 recognize. By still being substantive enough 00:10:02.700 --> 00:10:04.740 to really challenge the political establishment. 00:10:05.019 --> 00:10:08.039 Precisely. And speaking of challenging the establishment... 00:10:08.220 --> 00:10:11.059 That second book lies in the lying liars. That 00:10:11.059 --> 00:10:13.340 led to one of the most brilliant, though maybe 00:10:13.340 --> 00:10:16.120 unintentionally so, marketing wins in publishing 00:10:16.120 --> 00:10:18.980 history, the Fox News showdown. Oh, yeah, this 00:10:18.980 --> 00:10:21.299 was gold. Fox News actually sued him, right? 00:10:21.500 --> 00:10:24.580 They did. They filed a lawsuit claiming he infringed 00:10:24.580 --> 00:10:26.840 on their registered trademark, fair and balanced, 00:10:27.080 --> 00:10:29.220 just by using it in the subtitle of the book. 00:10:29.379 --> 00:10:31.720 Which, I mean, the subtitle was. A fair and balanced 00:10:31.720 --> 00:10:33.679 look at the right. Right. The whole point was 00:10:33.679 --> 00:10:36.320 the irony. Exactly. The sources really emphasized 00:10:36.320 --> 00:10:39.740 just how absurd the legal claim was on its face. 00:10:39.860 --> 00:10:41.820 And the judge thought so, too. Oh, yeah. The 00:10:41.820 --> 00:10:43.899 federal judge basically threw it out, calling 00:10:43.899 --> 00:10:46.899 the lawsuit wholly without merit. Which, of course, 00:10:46.940 --> 00:10:49.440 instantly just validated Franken's entire point 00:10:49.440 --> 00:10:51.860 about conservative media overreach. But the lawsuit 00:10:51.860 --> 00:10:54.759 had slowly backfired spectacularly on Fox. Massively. 00:10:54.860 --> 00:10:57.240 All the media coverage generated by a lawsuit, 00:10:57.399 --> 00:10:59.340 all this free press detailing the fight between 00:10:59.340 --> 00:11:02.379 Fox News and Al Franken, it just propelled the 00:11:02.379 --> 00:11:04.820 book straight to number one on Amazon. Sales 00:11:04.820 --> 00:11:08.059 shot up. So, Fox, trying to suppress his critique, 00:11:08.279 --> 00:11:11.159 actually ended up giving it the biggest possible 00:11:11.159 --> 00:11:14.139 platform. Textbook Streisand effect applied to 00:11:14.139 --> 00:11:17.220 political satire. just perfect so after that 00:11:17.220 --> 00:11:19.720 book success he decides to take his progressive 00:11:19.720 --> 00:11:23.360 commentary to the radio waves Trying to counter 00:11:23.360 --> 00:11:25.879 that perceived conservative dominance in talk 00:11:25.879 --> 00:11:29.120 radio. Yeah. In 2004, he launches The Al Franken 00:11:29.120 --> 00:11:31.679 Show on the new progressive network Air America 00:11:31.679 --> 00:11:34.879 Radio. And initially, he even used the title 00:11:34.879 --> 00:11:37.580 The O 'Franken Factor. Nice little poke at Bill 00:11:37.580 --> 00:11:40.639 O 'Reilly there. Definitely cheeky. But his motivation 00:11:40.639 --> 00:11:42.500 here, it seems pretty clear from the sources, 00:11:42.720 --> 00:11:44.759 wasn't really about entertainment anymore. It 00:11:44.759 --> 00:11:47.419 was pure activism. Yeah. There's that quote from 00:11:47.419 --> 00:11:50.059 him in 2004 where he says, basically, I'm doing 00:11:50.059 --> 00:11:52.179 this because I want to use my energies to get 00:11:52.179 --> 00:11:54.639 Bush unelected. That's the language of a political 00:11:54.639 --> 00:11:57.240 operative, right? Not just a detached comedian 00:11:57.240 --> 00:12:00.879 making jokes. So this radio show, which ran until 00:12:00.879 --> 00:12:03.700 2007, it really feels like the final training 00:12:03.700 --> 00:12:06.539 ground before he made the leap to actually running 00:12:06.539 --> 00:12:08.860 for office himself. And that transition, that 00:12:08.860 --> 00:12:10.980 decision to run, it was heavily influenced by 00:12:10.980 --> 00:12:13.590 one person in particular, wasn't it? Deeply influenced, 00:12:13.769 --> 00:12:16.870 yeah, by the late Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone. 00:12:17.169 --> 00:12:20.009 Wellstone was Franken's political mentor. His 00:12:20.009 --> 00:12:22.990 role model. Franken really saw him as the absolute 00:12:22.990 --> 00:12:25.370 epitome of a progressive public servant. Like 00:12:25.370 --> 00:12:27.950 the gold standard for him. Totally. And the specific 00:12:27.950 --> 00:12:30.529 thing that pushed him to finally run, the sources 00:12:30.529 --> 00:12:33.470 say, was actually a direct challenge to Wellstone's 00:12:33.470 --> 00:12:35.730 legacy. What was that? The Republican incumbent 00:12:35.730 --> 00:12:38.629 senator, Norm Coleman, who had actually taken 00:12:38.629 --> 00:12:41.330 Wellstone's seat after Wellstone died, Coleman 00:12:41.330 --> 00:12:43.070 made this comment that he considered himself 00:12:43.070 --> 00:12:47.389 a 99 % improvement over Wellstone. Oof. Okay, 00:12:47.470 --> 00:12:49.450 Franklin wouldn't have liked that. No, he apparently 00:12:49.450 --> 00:12:52.690 took that as a deep personal affront to the kind 00:12:52.690 --> 00:12:54.750 of progressive politics he really admired in 00:12:54.750 --> 00:12:57.470 Wellstone. So the wheels start turning. He announces 00:12:57.470 --> 00:12:59.830 he's moving back to Minnesota in 2005. Which 00:12:59.830 --> 00:13:01.669 is a crucial step, right? You've got to establish 00:13:01.669 --> 00:13:03.690 residency, reconnect with the state before you 00:13:03.690 --> 00:13:06.350 can run. He wasn't just thinking about it. He 00:13:06.350 --> 00:13:08.990 was actively executing this professional shift. 00:13:09.330 --> 00:13:11.950 And he set up a PAC. Right. The Midwest Values 00:13:11.950 --> 00:13:14.779 PAC. He did. And it wasn't just about raising 00:13:14.779 --> 00:13:16.980 money for himself. It was also a way to support 00:13:16.980 --> 00:13:19.480 other candidates and causes that kind of reflected 00:13:19.480 --> 00:13:22.440 Wellstone's progressive ideals. And by early 00:13:22.440 --> 00:13:25.539 2007, that peg had already pulled in over a million 00:13:25.539 --> 00:13:28.519 dollars. So it shows he was serious about laying 00:13:28.519 --> 00:13:31.139 the financial and political groundwork. And his 00:13:31.139 --> 00:13:33.340 policy positions were starting to solidify, too, 00:13:33.500 --> 00:13:36.240 moving towards a clearer progressive platform 00:13:36.240 --> 00:13:38.789 as he geared up for the Senate run. Yeah. Back 00:13:38.789 --> 00:13:41.470 in 2004, he'd already publicly favored moving 00:13:41.470 --> 00:13:44.710 towards a universal health care system. And on 00:13:44.710 --> 00:13:47.610 the big issue of the time, the Iraq War, he kind 00:13:47.610 --> 00:13:50.629 of navigated this complex political evolution. 00:13:51.210 --> 00:13:54.210 How so? Well, initially, he actually supported 00:13:54.210 --> 00:13:56.789 the war, said he'd been convinced by Colin Powell's 00:13:56.789 --> 00:13:58.809 presentation to the U .N., which a lot of people 00:13:58.809 --> 00:14:00.809 were at the time. True. But that support definitely 00:14:00.809 --> 00:14:04.129 flipped later. By 2007, he was actively opposing 00:14:04.129 --> 00:14:06.549 the troop surge and was calling for Congress 00:14:06.549 --> 00:14:09.070 to actually defund the war, but without setting 00:14:09.070 --> 00:14:11.769 specific exit timetables. OK, so that's kind 00:14:11.769 --> 00:14:13.710 of a nuanced position for a progressive candidate, 00:14:13.809 --> 00:14:15.509 right? Right. Supporting the initial decision, 00:14:15.649 --> 00:14:17.350 but then strongly opposing the continuation. 00:14:17.750 --> 00:14:20.669 It is strategically tricky, yeah. But it showed 00:14:20.669 --> 00:14:23.149 he wasn't afraid to evolve on a major issue and 00:14:23.149 --> 00:14:25.450 make a tough policy call, even if it wasn't perfectly 00:14:25.450 --> 00:14:28.409 clean. He was clearly calculating, fundraising, 00:14:28.909 --> 00:14:32.100 testing the political waters. Being just a media 00:14:32.100 --> 00:14:35.379 personality to a really serious contender for 00:14:35.379 --> 00:14:37.320 one of the most powerful offices in the country. 00:14:37.440 --> 00:14:39.940 Yeah. And all of this just perfectly set the 00:14:39.940 --> 00:14:42.220 stage for Act Three, which wasn't just an election. 00:14:42.480 --> 00:14:45.100 It was, I mean, a political saga that basically 00:14:45.100 --> 00:14:48.059 redefined the term too close to call. Act Three. 00:14:48.419 --> 00:14:52.799 The senator of 312 votes. OK, so Franken announces 00:14:52.799 --> 00:14:54.820 he's running for Senate on his very last Air 00:14:54.820 --> 00:14:57.940 America show, February 2007. Fast forward to 00:14:57.940 --> 00:15:00.379 November 2008, and he is locked in what just 00:15:00.379 --> 00:15:02.940 becomes this absolute political thriller against 00:15:02.940 --> 00:15:05.639 the incumbent, Norm Coleman. We really need to 00:15:05.639 --> 00:15:07.419 convey the tension here because this wasn't just 00:15:07.419 --> 00:15:10.259 close. It was a legislative marathon. Excruciating 00:15:10.259 --> 00:15:12.419 is probably the right word. So election night, 00:15:12.519 --> 00:15:14.600 the initial reports come in and they show Coleman 00:15:14.600 --> 00:15:17.480 leading by over 700 votes. OK, maybe a bit close, 00:15:17.539 --> 00:15:20.159 but looks like Coleman won. Right. But then. 00:15:20.159 --> 00:15:22.139 But then once the official results are actually 00:15:22.139 --> 00:15:25.240 certified, the margin just evaporates. Coleman 00:15:25.240 --> 00:15:28.879 is ahead by only 215 votes out of nearly three 00:15:28.879 --> 00:15:32.799 million cast. Wow. 215 votes out of three million. 00:15:32.860 --> 00:15:35.179 Yeah. It's a point zero one percent difference, 00:15:35.519 --> 00:15:38.179 which under Minnesota state law automatically 00:15:38.179 --> 00:15:40.799 triggers a statewide recount. And this wasn't 00:15:40.799 --> 00:15:42.720 just pushing a button on a machine recount. This 00:15:42.720 --> 00:15:45.899 was hands on. Oh, completely hands on. Highly 00:15:45.899 --> 00:15:49.909 politicized, intense public scrutiny. Every single 00:15:49.909 --> 00:15:52.429 ballot was being examined by lawyers and representatives 00:15:52.429 --> 00:15:54.309 from both campaigns. And they're challenging 00:15:54.309 --> 00:15:56.970 everything, right? Like a stray mark here, an 00:15:56.970 --> 00:15:59.590 oval not filled in perfectly there. Everything. 00:15:59.669 --> 00:16:01.289 The atmosphere must have been just incredibly 00:16:01.289 --> 00:16:03.289 tense. The whole state, probably the whole country, 00:16:03.409 --> 00:16:05.929 was watching this unfold ballot by ballot. And 00:16:05.929 --> 00:16:08.570 this back and forth, this scrutiny. It actually 00:16:08.570 --> 00:16:10.870 leads the state canvassing board to initially 00:16:10.870 --> 00:16:13.830 certify the results with Franken ahead now. Yeah, 00:16:13.889 --> 00:16:17.649 by a slim 225 votes. But that was really only 00:16:17.649 --> 00:16:19.450 the beginning of the fight. Coleman immediately 00:16:19.450 --> 00:16:22.429 filed an election contest. So court. Yep. Kicked 00:16:22.429 --> 00:16:24.309 off a multi -month trial in front of a special 00:16:24.309 --> 00:16:27.450 three -judge panel. And this trial, this becomes 00:16:27.450 --> 00:16:29.590 the real turning point, doesn't it? Because the 00:16:29.590 --> 00:16:31.769 panel makes a key decision about certain ballots. 00:16:32.429 --> 00:16:36.750 They do. They ordered the counting of 351 specific 00:16:36.750 --> 00:16:39.909 disputed absentee ballots. These were ballots 00:16:39.909 --> 00:16:42.269 that had previously been rejected by local officials, 00:16:42.529 --> 00:16:45.090 often for just minor technical reasons. Like 00:16:45.090 --> 00:16:47.470 maybe a signature didn't perfectly match or something 00:16:47.470 --> 00:16:49.590 like that. Exactly. Things like that. And that 00:16:49.590 --> 00:16:53.610 tiny stack, just 351 ballots, it changed everything. 00:16:53.950 --> 00:16:55.950 How much did it change the count by? Once those 00:16:55.950 --> 00:16:58.649 were opened and counted, they ultimately raised 00:16:58.649 --> 00:17:03.320 Franken's lead to 312 votes. 312. Just think 00:17:03.320 --> 00:17:06.299 about that. 312 votes deciding a U .S. Senate 00:17:06.299 --> 00:17:09.200 seat out of almost 3 million cast. It's staggering. 00:17:09.460 --> 00:17:11.339 It really underscores the power of every single 00:17:11.339 --> 00:17:13.779 vote, doesn't it? And every single legal challenge, 00:17:13.839 --> 00:17:16.180 I guess. Absolutely. But the legal drama wasn't 00:17:16.180 --> 00:17:19.660 over even then. It dragged on for 246 days after 00:17:19.660 --> 00:17:22.000 the election. Coleman appealed the result all 00:17:22.000 --> 00:17:24.220 the way up to the Minnesota Supreme Court. Eight 00:17:24.220 --> 00:17:26.059 months. The seat was empty for eight months. 00:17:26.599 --> 00:17:28.720 Incredible, right? The tension just held for 00:17:28.720 --> 00:17:33.170 that long. Finally, June 30th, 2009, the Minnesota 00:17:33.170 --> 00:17:37.509 Supreme Court unanimously, unanimously rejects 00:17:37.509 --> 00:17:40.230 Coleman's final appeal. And that was it. That 00:17:40.230 --> 00:17:42.670 was it. Franken was sworn in just a week later, 00:17:42.809 --> 00:17:46.190 July 7th, 2009, and he took the oath of office 00:17:46.190 --> 00:17:49.309 using Paul Wellstone's Bible. Wow. A victory 00:17:49.309 --> 00:17:52.049 won through sheer grinding legal persistence. 00:17:52.450 --> 00:17:55.109 Absolutely. So after all that chaos getting into 00:17:55.109 --> 00:17:57.490 the Senate, the sources really detail Franken 00:17:57.490 --> 00:18:00.049 making this very deliberate choice. He completely 00:18:00.049 --> 00:18:03.049 pivoted away from the media spotlight, away from 00:18:03.049 --> 00:18:05.029 his comedy persona. He wanted to be seen as a 00:18:05.029 --> 00:18:07.230 workhorse, right? Not a show horse. Exactly. 00:18:07.410 --> 00:18:10.319 He focused intensely. on policy, on constituent 00:18:10.319 --> 00:18:12.079 work. He really wanted to be taken seriously. 00:18:12.319 --> 00:18:14.200 And did it work? Was he effective? He actually 00:18:14.200 --> 00:18:16.059 proved to be exceptionally effective, especially 00:18:16.059 --> 00:18:18.740 considering he started as the absolute most junior 00:18:18.740 --> 00:18:20.980 member of the Senate. His very first bill, which 00:18:20.980 --> 00:18:22.960 he co -wrote with a Republican senator, Johnny 00:18:22.960 --> 00:18:25.380 Isakson. Bipartisan, okay. Yeah, right out of 00:18:25.380 --> 00:18:27.059 the gate. It was the Service Dogs for Veterans 00:18:27.059 --> 00:18:30.299 Act. It set up a VA program to pair disabled 00:18:30.299 --> 00:18:33.240 veterans with service dogs. Getting that bipartisan 00:18:33.240 --> 00:18:36.900 win so early was really crucial for establishing 00:18:36.900 --> 00:18:39.519 his credibility. That makes sense. But his biggest 00:18:39.519 --> 00:18:41.960 impact, according to the sources, was really 00:18:41.960 --> 00:18:44.240 in major legislation, particularly the Affordable 00:18:44.240 --> 00:18:47.240 Care Act, right? The ACA. Oh, undoubtedly. He 00:18:47.240 --> 00:18:49.819 authored this absolutely crucial amendment called 00:18:49.819 --> 00:18:53.160 the Medical Loss Ratio or MLR. And this is like 00:18:53.160 --> 00:18:56.619 a textbook example of really complex policy having 00:18:56.619 --> 00:19:00.339 a massive direct benefit for consumers. Explain 00:19:00.339 --> 00:19:03.240 the MLR. What did it actually do? OK, so before 00:19:03.240 --> 00:19:05.980 the MLR, insurance companies could spend a huge 00:19:05.980 --> 00:19:08.019 chunk of your premium dollars on things like 00:19:08.019 --> 00:19:10.400 administrative overhead, massive CEO salaries, 00:19:10.740 --> 00:19:12.819 marketing, whatever, instead of actual medical 00:19:12.819 --> 00:19:14.660 care. Right. Money not going to health care. 00:19:14.759 --> 00:19:17.799 Exactly. Franken's MLR amendment basically forced 00:19:17.799 --> 00:19:20.559 a level of consumer protection. It mandated that 00:19:20.559 --> 00:19:22.759 insurance companies had to spend a minimum percentage 00:19:22.759 --> 00:19:25.319 of the premiums they collected, 80 percent for 00:19:25.319 --> 00:19:27.460 small group plans, 85 percent for large group 00:19:27.460 --> 00:19:31.789 plans, directly on health care costs. 80 or 85 00:19:31.789 --> 00:19:34.029 cents of every dollar. Precisely. And the distinction 00:19:34.029 --> 00:19:37.190 here is critical. It wasn't just a suggestion. 00:19:37.349 --> 00:19:40.509 It had teeth. If the insurers didn't hit that 00:19:40.509 --> 00:19:42.609 threshold, if they spent too much on overhead 00:19:42.609 --> 00:19:44.849 or profit. They had to pay it back. They had 00:19:44.849 --> 00:19:48.029 to issue rebates directly back to consumers or 00:19:48.029 --> 00:19:51.170 employers. It fundamentally changed the basic 00:19:51.170 --> 00:19:53.390 economics of the health insurance industry in 00:19:53.390 --> 00:19:56.220 the U .S. Wow. That sounds like a fight. Oh, 00:19:56.339 --> 00:19:58.420 it was fiercely fought by the insurance lobby, 00:19:58.539 --> 00:20:00.259 which kind of tells you how effective it was. 00:20:00.359 --> 00:20:04.039 And this kind of work, you know, technical, complex, 00:20:04.200 --> 00:20:06.859 focused on protecting regular people from big 00:20:06.859 --> 00:20:09.599 financial institutions, that really defined his 00:20:09.599 --> 00:20:12.000 Senate tenure. It was a million miles away from 00:20:12.000 --> 00:20:14.339 writing SNL sketches. Definitely a different 00:20:14.339 --> 00:20:16.680 world. He also took on issues around workplace 00:20:16.680 --> 00:20:18.660 justice, didn't he? Something about mandatory 00:20:18.660 --> 00:20:21.950 arbitration. Yeah, he was apparently deeply moved 00:20:21.950 --> 00:20:24.309 by the story of Jamie Lee Jones. She was a woman 00:20:24.309 --> 00:20:26.410 who alleged she was sexually assaulted while 00:20:26.410 --> 00:20:29.190 working for a defense contractor overseas, KBR. 00:20:29.410 --> 00:20:31.890 But her employment contract had this mandatory 00:20:31.890 --> 00:20:33.910 arbitration clause, which basically prevented 00:20:33.910 --> 00:20:36.710 her from suing the company in open court. Ah, 00:20:36.910 --> 00:20:39.799 so she was forced into this private system. Exactly. 00:20:40.119 --> 00:20:43.259 Mandatory arbitration forces employees to settle 00:20:43.259 --> 00:20:46.099 disputes, including really serious ones like 00:20:46.099 --> 00:20:48.819 sexual assault and discrimination claims, completely 00:20:48.819 --> 00:20:51.859 out of court, behind closed doors, often in these 00:20:51.859 --> 00:20:54.000 private arbitration systems that can be heavily 00:20:54.000 --> 00:20:56.519 favored towards the company. Got it. So what 00:20:56.519 --> 00:20:59.019 does Franken do? He championed what became known 00:20:59.019 --> 00:21:01.690 as the Jones Amendment. It was attached to the 00:21:01.690 --> 00:21:04.589 2010 Defense Appropriations Bill. And what it 00:21:04.589 --> 00:21:07.130 did was limit the use of mandatory arbitration 00:21:07.130 --> 00:21:10.250 for defense contractors. These huge companies 00:21:10.250 --> 00:21:12.490 that get billions in government contracts in 00:21:12.490 --> 00:21:15.150 cases involving workplace sexual assault, harassment, 00:21:15.490 --> 00:21:17.670 and discrimination. So it allowed those employees 00:21:17.670 --> 00:21:19.670 to actually take these powerful companies to 00:21:19.670 --> 00:21:22.259 a real court. Yes. to a public court of law. 00:21:22.420 --> 00:21:24.859 It was a massive win for employee rights and 00:21:24.859 --> 00:21:26.579 corporate accountability, especially against 00:21:26.579 --> 00:21:28.579 these really powerful government contractors. 00:21:29.079 --> 00:21:31.740 That's significant. And, you know, for all this 00:21:31.740 --> 00:21:34.440 seriousness, he hadn't totally lost his touch 00:21:34.440 --> 00:21:36.400 with the public, had he? There was that viral 00:21:36.400 --> 00:21:38.420 video from the Minnesota State Fair. Oh, yeah, 00:21:38.480 --> 00:21:41.859 2009. That video became famous because he was 00:21:41.859 --> 00:21:44.980 shown engaging with this group of pretty angry 00:21:44.980 --> 00:21:47.539 Tea Party protesters about the details of the 00:21:47.539 --> 00:21:49.579 health care reform bill. And why did it go viral? 00:21:50.529 --> 00:21:52.809 Specifically because of the civility he maintained 00:21:52.809 --> 00:21:55.509 throughout the whole thing. He was patient. He 00:21:55.509 --> 00:21:57.609 was focused on the actual policy details. He 00:21:57.609 --> 00:21:59.470 was respectful, even though he was dealing with 00:21:59.470 --> 00:22:02.470 this really energized, hostile crowd. Huh. It's 00:22:02.470 --> 00:22:04.980 like it. Perfectly captured that dual identity, 00:22:05.180 --> 00:22:07.440 right? The competitive policy wonk who could 00:22:07.440 --> 00:22:10.180 still connect or at least engage patiently using 00:22:10.180 --> 00:22:13.240 just facts. Exactly. And by 2014, the transformation 00:22:13.240 --> 00:22:16.299 seemed complete. The sources confirm his reelection 00:22:16.299 --> 00:22:19.799 victory that year was decisive. He got 53 .2 00:22:19.799 --> 00:22:21.700 percent of the vote. Which was a big jump from 00:22:21.700 --> 00:22:25.559 the 312 vote squeaker in 08. Huge jump. He'd 00:22:25.559 --> 00:22:27.779 gone from being a top Republican target in 2008 00:22:27.779 --> 00:22:31.220 to being seen as a heavy favorite by 2014. He'd 00:22:31.220 --> 00:22:33.660 successfully established himself as this reliable, 00:22:33.859 --> 00:22:36.700 effective legislator, a serious fundraiser, a 00:22:36.700 --> 00:22:39.299 serious policy guy in the Senate. Yeah. It really 00:22:39.299 --> 00:22:41.079 seemed like he'd made the transition permanent. 00:22:41.259 --> 00:22:45.039 No one, absolutely no one saw the sudden collapse. 00:22:45.059 --> 00:22:47.740 It was literally just around the corner. Which 00:22:47.740 --> 00:22:50.759 brings us, yeah, to act four, the sudden and 00:22:50.759 --> 00:22:53.279 for many tragic end to this historic political 00:22:53.279 --> 00:22:56.579 career in 2017. The sources really lay out this 00:22:56.579 --> 00:22:59.720 rapid, almost dizzying chain of events that started 00:22:59.720 --> 00:23:01.660 with that first public allegation in November 00:23:01.660 --> 00:23:04.640 2017. Yeah, that first accusation came from Leanne 00:23:04.640 --> 00:23:07.000 Tweeden, who's a radio broadcaster and former 00:23:07.000 --> 00:23:09.779 model. She alleged that back during a USO tour 00:23:09.779 --> 00:23:12.579 rehearsal in 2006, Franken had forcibly kissed 00:23:12.579 --> 00:23:15.180 her. What were the specifics, she alleged? She 00:23:15.180 --> 00:23:17.099 described it pretty vividly, said he came at 00:23:17.099 --> 00:23:19.200 me, put his hand on the back of my head, mashed 00:23:19.200 --> 00:23:21.420 his lips against mine, and aggressively stuck 00:23:21.420 --> 00:23:23.619 his tongue in my mouth. She said she pushed him 00:23:23.619 --> 00:23:26.160 away and felt disgusted and violated. Okay, that's 00:23:26.160 --> 00:23:27.799 a serious allegation. And then there's the photo. 00:23:28.039 --> 00:23:30.799 And then there was the photo, which became really 00:23:30.799 --> 00:23:33.460 the defining image of the whole scandal. It accompanied 00:23:33.460 --> 00:23:36.599 her accusation. Describe the photo again. It 00:23:36.599 --> 00:23:40.539 was taken during that same 2006 USO tour. It 00:23:40.539 --> 00:23:43.259 shows Franken mugging for the camera, holding 00:23:43.259 --> 00:23:45.799 his hands up as if grabbing or hovering just 00:23:45.799 --> 00:23:48.619 above Tweeden's chest area while she was asleep 00:23:48.619 --> 00:23:51.960 on a military transport plane. She was fully 00:23:51.960 --> 00:23:54.759 clothed, wearing body armor and a helmet at the 00:23:54.759 --> 00:23:57.160 time. And Franken's response to that photo? He 00:23:57.160 --> 00:23:59.480 responded quickly, called it a failed attempt 00:23:59.480 --> 00:24:02.119 at a joke, said it wasn't funny, admitted he 00:24:02.119 --> 00:24:04.200 shouldn't have done it. But he also maintained 00:24:04.200 --> 00:24:06.519 that his memory of the rehearsal kiss she described 00:24:06.519 --> 00:24:09.619 was very different from hers. Okay. But that 00:24:09.619 --> 00:24:12.259 first accusation, plus that really damaging photo, 00:24:12.420 --> 00:24:14.720 it seemed to open the floodgates, didn't it? 00:24:14.779 --> 00:24:17.559 It really did. The sources note that within weeks, 00:24:17.799 --> 00:24:19.759 seven additional women came forward with their 00:24:19.759 --> 00:24:22.839 own accounts. These mostly detailed a range of 00:24:22.839 --> 00:24:24.700 what they described as inappropriate touching, 00:24:24.859 --> 00:24:27.160 usually during photo ops at public events or 00:24:27.160 --> 00:24:29.099 political gatherings. What kind of touching were 00:24:29.099 --> 00:24:31.519 they describing? Well, the range included multiple 00:24:31.519 --> 00:24:33.839 women who alleged that he grabbed or squeezed 00:24:33.839 --> 00:24:36.339 their clothed buttocks while posing for photos. 00:24:36.859 --> 00:24:39.240 Another allegation came from an army veteran, 00:24:39.460 --> 00:24:42.059 Stephanie Kemplin, who claimed Franken put his 00:24:42.059 --> 00:24:44.299 hand on the side of her breast and held it there 00:24:44.299 --> 00:24:46.559 for maybe five to ten seconds during a photo 00:24:46.559 --> 00:24:51.160 op on a USO tour in Iraq back in 2003. Another 00:24:51.160 --> 00:24:53.720 woman reported getting an open mouth, sort of 00:24:53.720 --> 00:24:56.619 wet kiss on the cheek after she turned her face 00:24:56.619 --> 00:24:59.369 away during a handshake. This was after an appearance 00:24:59.369 --> 00:25:02.799 on his radio show in 2006. So a pattern alleged 00:25:02.799 --> 00:25:05.319 mainly around photo lines and public interactions. 00:25:05.740 --> 00:25:08.579 How did Franken respond to these additional claims? 00:25:08.900 --> 00:25:12.099 He issued a broader apology then, saying he regretted 00:25:12.099 --> 00:25:14.220 making some women feel uncomfortable, acknowledging 00:25:14.220 --> 00:25:16.380 he had crossed a line for some women in certain 00:25:16.380 --> 00:25:19.140 interactions. But he also consistently maintained 00:25:19.140 --> 00:25:21.440 that he remembered some of these encounters very 00:25:21.440 --> 00:25:23.279 differently than the way they were being described. 00:25:23.640 --> 00:25:25.559 And he supported an ethics investigation, right? 00:25:25.660 --> 00:25:28.220 Yes. He immediately said he welcomed and would 00:25:28.220 --> 00:25:30.400 cooperate fully with a Senate Ethics Committee 00:25:30.400 --> 00:25:33.049 investigation. which was initiated fairly quickly 00:25:33.049 --> 00:25:35.769 with support from leaders in both parties. But 00:25:35.769 --> 00:25:38.549 the ethics committee investigation never finished, 00:25:38.650 --> 00:25:42.630 did it? No. And this is really the critical juncture 00:25:42.630 --> 00:25:46.059 where. the political momentum just completely 00:25:46.059 --> 00:25:48.759 overtook the standard investigative process. 00:25:49.019 --> 00:25:51.539 What happened? The sources confirm that within 00:25:51.539 --> 00:25:54.740 a very short time frame, more than two dozen 00:25:54.740 --> 00:25:58.220 Democratic senators, led very publicly by Senator 00:25:58.220 --> 00:26:01.940 Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, called for Franken's 00:26:01.940 --> 00:26:04.920 immediate resignation before the ethics committee 00:26:04.920 --> 00:26:06.920 had done its work, before it reached any findings. 00:26:07.099 --> 00:26:10.670 Wow. So pressure from within his own party. Immense 00:26:10.670 --> 00:26:12.630 pressure. The sources detail that the Senate 00:26:12.630 --> 00:26:15.250 minority leader at the time, Chuck Schumer, basically 00:26:15.250 --> 00:26:18.130 confronted Franken, told him he needed to announce 00:26:18.130 --> 00:26:21.029 his resignation by 5 p .m. that day. Or else 00:26:21.029 --> 00:26:23.450 what? Or face the consequences, which would likely 00:26:23.450 --> 00:26:25.609 include being formally censured by the Senate 00:26:25.609 --> 00:26:27.230 and stripped of all his committee assignments. 00:26:27.470 --> 00:26:29.269 Which would make him completely ineffective as 00:26:29.269 --> 00:26:31.910 a senator. Completely powerless, unable to do 00:26:31.910 --> 00:26:34.369 the legislative work he prided himself on. Censure 00:26:34.369 --> 00:26:36.430 itself is a formal public rebuke that, you know, 00:26:36.430 --> 00:26:38.990 permanently stains a political career. Faced 00:26:38.990 --> 00:26:40.799 with that kind of ultimatum from his own party 00:26:40.799 --> 00:26:43.240 leadership. He resigned. He announced his intention 00:26:43.240 --> 00:26:46.440 to resign on December 7, 2017, and it became 00:26:46.440 --> 00:26:49.759 effective January 2, 2018. And in his resignation 00:26:49.759 --> 00:26:52.579 speech, he didn't hold back on the irony he felt, 00:26:52.660 --> 00:26:55.390 did he? No, he specifically pointed out what 00:26:55.390 --> 00:26:57.589 he called the profound irony that he was stepping 00:26:57.589 --> 00:27:00.789 down, while other politicians, he cited President 00:27:00.789 --> 00:27:03.170 Trump and Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore 00:27:03.170 --> 00:27:06.269 specifically, who were facing multiple, often 00:27:06.269 --> 00:27:08.789 more severe and very high profile allegations, 00:27:09.250 --> 00:27:11.869 continue to enjoy the full support of their party, 00:27:12.009 --> 00:27:13.970 the Republican Party. Yeah, that was a pointed 00:27:13.970 --> 00:27:16.730 comment. And the personal cost for him was significant. 00:27:17.009 --> 00:27:19.460 Apparently very severe. The sources note that 00:27:19.460 --> 00:27:21.440 after the resignation, he went through a period 00:27:21.440 --> 00:27:24.099 of clinical depression, needed medication and 00:27:24.099 --> 00:27:26.799 felt this profound sense of isolation from public 00:27:26.799 --> 00:27:29.599 life. And politically, that debate about whether 00:27:29.599 --> 00:27:31.940 he got due process, it didn't really go away 00:27:31.940 --> 00:27:34.150 after he left, did it? Not at all. It actually 00:27:34.150 --> 00:27:36.069 grew louder, especially after some significant 00:27:36.069 --> 00:27:39.829 reporting came out in 2019. Journalist Jane Mayer 00:27:39.829 --> 00:27:42.109 published a piece in The New Yorker that documented 00:27:42.109 --> 00:27:45.210 what she described as substantial inaccuracies 00:27:45.210 --> 00:27:47.990 in some key parts of Leon Tweeden's original 00:27:47.990 --> 00:27:50.670 account, particularly around the events of that 00:27:50.670 --> 00:27:54.740 USO tour rehearsal. So new information casting 00:27:54.740 --> 00:27:57.140 some doubt on the initial catalyst. Exactly. 00:27:57.299 --> 00:27:59.339 And this new reporting seemed to spur a pretty 00:27:59.339 --> 00:28:01.599 major reevaluation among some of his former Senate 00:28:01.599 --> 00:28:03.880 colleagues. It suggested that maybe the initial 00:28:03.880 --> 00:28:06.599 rush to judgment, that demand for immediate resignation, 00:28:06.940 --> 00:28:09.500 might have been a political overreach. Did any 00:28:09.500 --> 00:28:12.000 senators say that publicly? Oh, yes. Several 00:28:12.000 --> 00:28:14.359 prominent Democrats came forward later expressing 00:28:14.359 --> 00:28:17.259 really profound regret for calling for his resignation 00:28:17.259 --> 00:28:19.740 when they did. We know former Senate Majority 00:28:19.740 --> 00:28:22.440 Leader Harry Reid, Senator Patrick Leahy, Senator... 00:28:22.440 --> 00:28:25.059 Tom Udall. What did they say? Leahy was quoted 00:28:25.059 --> 00:28:27.420 saying, calling for the resignation was one of 00:28:27.420 --> 00:28:29.240 the biggest mistakes I've made in his Senate 00:28:29.240 --> 00:28:32.440 career. Udall flatly said, I made a mistake, 00:28:32.740 --> 00:28:35.960 and felt Franken had been essentially railroaded 00:28:35.960 --> 00:28:38.599 and deserved a proper investigation by the Ethics 00:28:38.599 --> 00:28:41.500 Committee. Reed called the way Franken was treated 00:28:41.500 --> 00:28:45.660 terrible and unfair. So a real sense among these 00:28:45.660 --> 00:28:47.660 senior figures that maybe the process failed 00:28:47.660 --> 00:28:50.349 him. Yeah, the consensus among them seemed to 00:28:50.349 --> 00:28:53.089 be that the desire for swift, decisive moral 00:28:53.089 --> 00:28:56.849 action in that charged hashtag me too moment 00:28:56.849 --> 00:28:59.529 had dangerously overridden the fundamental principle 00:28:59.529 --> 00:29:02.490 of due process. And this also had political consequences 00:29:02.490 --> 00:29:04.509 for Senator Gillibrand, who led that charge. 00:29:04.670 --> 00:29:07.440 It did. She faced accusations from some of Franken 00:29:07.440 --> 00:29:09.859 supporters, including some major Democratic donors, 00:29:10.059 --> 00:29:13.660 of acting opportunistically. One prominent fundraiser 00:29:13.660 --> 00:29:15.660 was quoted suggesting Gillibrand had kind of 00:29:15.660 --> 00:29:18.299 stained her reputation as a fair player because 00:29:18.299 --> 00:29:20.579 of the rushed judgment and that it might burden 00:29:20.579 --> 00:29:22.779 her future political ambitions. It really brings 00:29:22.779 --> 00:29:24.940 us back to Franken's own reflection on it later 00:29:24.940 --> 00:29:28.220 in 2019. He acknowledged making some women uncomfortable, 00:29:28.380 --> 00:29:30.039 said he was sorry for that. Right. He owned that 00:29:30.039 --> 00:29:32.539 part. But he also really stressed the importance 00:29:32.539 --> 00:29:35.319 of differentiating. You know, between different 00:29:35.319 --> 00:29:37.940 kinds of behavior. Yeah. He specifically pushed 00:29:37.940 --> 00:29:40.740 back on the political notion that, quote, anybody 00:29:40.740 --> 00:29:43.400 who accuses someone of something is always right. 00:29:43.539 --> 00:29:45.779 He said that's not the case. That isn't reality. 00:29:46.160 --> 00:29:48.319 It's a statement that really cuts right to the 00:29:48.319 --> 00:29:50.519 core of the dilemma, doesn't it? Yeah. How do 00:29:50.519 --> 00:29:53.500 you navigate public accusations, intense political 00:29:53.500 --> 00:29:57.079 pressure in an age of instant media judgment? 00:29:57.779 --> 00:30:00.400 So as that political whirlwind finally started 00:30:00.400 --> 00:30:02.920 to settle down a bit, we see Al Franken trying 00:30:02.920 --> 00:30:06.819 to. well, reconstruct his public life. And he 00:30:06.819 --> 00:30:09.539 seems to be returning, maybe inevitably, to the 00:30:09.539 --> 00:30:11.690 worlds he knew best. media and entertainment 00:30:11.690 --> 00:30:14.450 he's definitely gone back to his roots yeah his 00:30:14.450 --> 00:30:16.630 post -senate career looks a lot like his pre 00:30:16.630 --> 00:30:18.789 -senate career in some ways he launched the al 00:30:18.789 --> 00:30:21.130 franken podcast back in 2019. what's that focus 00:30:21.130 --> 00:30:24.210 on mostly politics current events global affairs 00:30:24.210 --> 00:30:27.309 high -level commentary and he's also been touring 00:30:27.309 --> 00:30:30.009 pretty extensively with a solo stage show ah 00:30:30.009 --> 00:30:32.089 yeah the one with the title one with the classic 00:30:32.089 --> 00:30:34.829 self -deprecating franken title the only former 00:30:34.829 --> 00:30:37.869 u .s senator currently on tour perfect Got to 00:30:37.869 --> 00:30:40.289 appreciate the humor there. Definitely. And in 00:30:40.289 --> 00:30:42.470 maybe the most perfect or perhaps inevitable 00:30:42.470 --> 00:30:46.789 piece of sort of cyclical irony, the sources 00:30:46.789 --> 00:30:48.990 confirm he's actually returning to scripted acting 00:30:48.990 --> 00:30:52.369 in 2025. Doing what? He's playing a U .S. senator 00:30:52.369 --> 00:30:55.089 in a Netflix comedy mystery series called The 00:30:55.089 --> 00:30:58.349 Residence. It'll be his first actual acting role 00:30:58.349 --> 00:31:02.410 in like 27 years. Wow. So he's literally going 00:31:02.410 --> 00:31:04.809 back to playing a senator. But this time it's 00:31:04.809 --> 00:31:06.950 fictional. Under circumstances he can actually 00:31:06.950 --> 00:31:09.569 control. kind of poetic in a way and and you 00:31:09.569 --> 00:31:11.809 know that political fire it doesn't seem completely 00:31:11.809 --> 00:31:15.230 extinguished either in an interview in 2022 he 00:31:15.230 --> 00:31:18.289 did publicly express regret over resigning when 00:31:18.289 --> 00:31:20.730 he did did he say he'd run again he didn't commit 00:31:20.730 --> 00:31:23.170 but he did say it would be tempting to run for 00:31:23.170 --> 00:31:25.210 public office again someday so that drive for 00:31:25.210 --> 00:31:26.990 public service the thing that pulled him from 00:31:26.990 --> 00:31:29.250 comedy into the senate in the first place it 00:31:29.250 --> 00:31:31.329 clearly still seems to be a pretty powerful force 00:31:31.329 --> 00:31:33.329 for him so what we've really covered today is 00:31:33.329 --> 00:31:35.690 just this extraordinary distance traveled in 00:31:35.690 --> 00:31:38.369 a single career i mean from the political satire 00:31:38.369 --> 00:31:40.609 at Harvard Yard and 30 Rock. Right, through the 00:31:40.609 --> 00:31:42.890 really complex policy fights in the Senate over 00:31:42.890 --> 00:31:46.230 things like mandatory arbitration and the medical 00:31:46.230 --> 00:31:49.470 loss ratio. And then finally to that just brutal 00:31:49.470 --> 00:31:51.769 political mechanism that ended his tenure so 00:31:51.769 --> 00:31:55.289 abruptly. It's a story defined by, wow, high 00:31:55.289 --> 00:31:57.690 achievement, deep contradictions. And this really 00:31:57.690 --> 00:32:00.950 dramatic high stakes collision between celebrity 00:32:00.950 --> 00:32:03.670 politics and accountability in the modern age. 00:32:04.140 --> 00:32:06.599 Yeah. It's a really powerful story about the 00:32:06.599 --> 00:32:09.039 price of public life today, isn't it? Yeah. Especially 00:32:09.039 --> 00:32:10.900 in this hyper -accelerated media environment 00:32:10.900 --> 00:32:13.279 and maybe especially for a politician whose life 00:32:13.279 --> 00:32:15.140 was already kind of built on irony and performance. 00:32:15.480 --> 00:32:17.720 That's a great way to put it. So considering 00:32:17.720 --> 00:32:20.500 those repeated, very explicit statements of regret 00:32:20.500 --> 00:32:22.880 from his former Senate colleagues, you know, 00:32:22.880 --> 00:32:25.619 powerful figures like Leahy, Udall, Harry Reid, 00:32:25.759 --> 00:32:28.079 who felt he was denied the internal due process 00:32:28.079 --> 00:32:31.450 he was entitled to. This really raises an important 00:32:31.450 --> 00:32:33.470 question for you, the learner, to think about. 00:32:33.569 --> 00:32:36.509 What responsibility do we hold as informed citizens, 00:32:36.650 --> 00:32:39.549 as observers, when we're evaluating these complex 00:32:39.549 --> 00:32:42.430 public accusations, especially when they happen 00:32:42.430 --> 00:32:45.170 under such intense political pressure? How do 00:32:45.170 --> 00:32:47.769 we balance that against the need for patience, 00:32:47.849 --> 00:32:50.910 for waiting for a thorough, maybe impartial investigation? 00:32:51.349 --> 00:32:53.509 It's a tough balance. It is. This raises an important 00:32:53.509 --> 00:32:56.119 question for you to consider. Thank you for joining 00:32:56.119 --> 00:32:59.480 us for this deep dive into the fascinating and 00:32:59.480 --> 00:33:01.859 definitely contradictory trajectory of Al Franken.