Claims Involves ‘Surrogacy’
Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ), one of the most conservative members of Congress, as expected has just announced he will be resigning at the end of January in response to a House ethics investigation into his behavior.
Franks, in a statement (below) insists his actions have nothing to do with sexual harassment, assault, or other inappropriate sexual behavior. He says remarks he made about surrogacy made two of his staffers uncomfortable, and he does not beleive he would be able to survive an ethics investigation.
“We are in an unusual moment in history – there is a collective focus on a very important problem of justice and sexual impropriety. It is so important that we get this right for everyone, especially for victims,†Franks told The Washington Times in a statement.
“But in the midst of this current cultural and media climate, I am deeply convinced I would be unable to complete a fair House Ethics investigation before distorted and sensationalized versions of this story would put me, my family.”
But CBS News calls the investigation a “sexual harassment probe.”
Speaker Paul Ryan says he learned of the allegations last week and immediately told Franks to resign.
It would appear there may be more details to the Franks’ story than his statement offers. The Ethics Committee memo calls it a possible case of sexual harassment:
Franks is rated a “hard core Conservative” by On The Issues, a site that rates lawmakers and documents their positions.
He believes denying women their constitutionally-protected right to choose to have an abortion — or not — is just like ending the Holocaust and slavery. Franks is a birther and climate change denier, and serves on the Judiciary Committee.
Franks once blames ISIS on the “secular left” in America, and even said heterosexuals deserve “special” rights because same-sex marriage threatens the nation.
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