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Sexual Assault Tag

Posted by Mary Chastain on November 30, 2017 21 Comments
NBC fired Today show anchor Matt Lauer on Wednesday after a very long meeting with a female that lodged sexual harassment accusations against him. After that, numerous other accusations surfaced. He remained silent all day, but broke his silence Thursday morning. From CNN:
"There are no words to express my sorrow and regret for the pain I have caused others by words and actions," Lauer said in a statement provided to CNN. "To the people I have hurt, I am truly sorry. As I am writing this I realize the depth of the damage and disappointment I have left behind at home and at NBC."

Posted by Mary Chastain on November 29, 2017 16 Comments
Early this morning, NBC fired Today anchor Matt Lauer after a colleague and her lawyer met with the big shots at the network and she gave them details of what Lauer allegedly did to her "that started on a trip at the Sochi Olympics in 2014 and continued for several months." NBC President Andrew Lack said the network does not believe this was an isolated incident. Of course it wasn't and Variety magazine provided more incidents of disgusting and disturbing behavior by Lauer. The New York Times also reported that NBC News received at least two new complaints against Lauer after his firing.

Posted by Mary Chastain on November 29, 2017 32 Comments
Former A Prairie Home Companion host Garrison Keillor has lost his job at Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) over alleged inappropriate behavior. MPR released this statement:
Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) is terminating its contracts with Garrison Keillor and his private media companies after recently learning of allegations of his inappropriate behavior with an individual who worked with him.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on November 28, 2017 16 Comments
With today's revelation of yet another Representative John Conyers' (D-MI) staffer alleging sexual harassment, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is reportedly in talks with Conyers about his resigning from Congress.  Of note, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is quietly supporting the move. CNN reports:
Several Congressional Black Caucus members are in talks to get veteran Rep. John Conyers to resign amid allegations of sexual misconduct, several Democratic sources told CNN on Tuesday. Those members are trying to ease his exit without trampling on his legacy during his 50-plus years in the House. Conyers, a Michigan Democrat, is the longest currently serving member of the House of Representatives.

Posted by Mary Chastain on November 27, 2017 29 Comments
Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) held a short press conference outside of his office to address the sexual misconduct allegations against him. He apologized profusely and promised to cooperate with the ethics committee. From Politico:
“It’s been clear that there are some women — and one is too many — who feel that I have done something disrespectful and it’s hurt them and for that, I am tremendously sorry,” Franken told reporters outside his Senate office. “I know that I am going to have to be much more conscious when in these circumstances, much more careful, much more sensitive, and that this will not happen again going forward.”

Posted by Mary Chastain on November 27, 2017 21 Comments
Minnesota Democrat Senator Al Franken. Michigan Democrat Representative John Conyers. Who is next? It could be anyone! A Washington Post report from a few weeks ago showed that the "Office of Compliance has paid more than $17 million for 264 settlements and awards to federal employees for violations of various employment rules" since 1997. This includes sexual harassment. Congress returns to work after the Thanksgiving holiday to immense pressure not only to reveal the causes and people involved in these settlements, but to make the process more transparent.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on November 26, 2017 27 Comments
Mary posted earlier on Representative John Conyers (D-MI) stepping down from his position as ranking member on the House Judiciary committee.  His language is hazy, and it sounds like he's not leaving the committee and intends to resume his position as ranking member when the "investigation" concludes. Clearly, the move is intended to serve as his "punishment" for allegations of sexual harassment that include his attending a meeting with a female committee employee in his underwear and numerous allegations of demanding sexual favors and punishing women by firing them when they rejected his unwanted sexual advances.  He's also alleged to have used, in 2015, taxpayer dollars to settle sexual harassment claims.

Posted by Mary Chastain on November 26, 2017 9 Comments
Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) has decided to step down as ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee as the ethics committee begins an investigation into sexual harassment allegations against him. He said:
After careful consideration and In light of the attention drawn by recent allegations made against me, I have notified the Democratic Leader of my request to step aside as Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee during the investigation of these matters.

Posted by Mary Chastain on November 24, 2017 13 Comments
Lawyer Melanie Sloan has come forward with inappropriate behavior that Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) used towards her, which included verbal abuse and comments about her appearance. This happened when she worked as a Democratic counsel for the House Judiciary Committee in the 1990s, which Conyers still serves on as ranking member. From The Detroit Free Press:
She said he criticized her for not wearing stockings on at least one occasion. On another, she said he ordered her backstage from a committee field hearing on crime she had organized in New York City to babysit one of his children. Sloan made clear that she did not feel she had ever been sexually harassed, but that she felt “mistreated by this guy.”

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 23, 2017 22 Comments
From a purely partisan standpoint, it's better for Republicans if Al Franken stays in the Senate. Franken is a living, breathing monument to liberal hypocrisy, an accused serial groper and tongue-shover-in-mouther who reminds us daily that whatever else it is, the Democratic Party is the party that promoted and covered for the lustful Kennedy brothers and their more modern progeny, Bill Clinton. If only Teddy had a Hillary to go to bat for him when he needed it most; just think what she would have done to the reputation and memory of poor Mary Jo Kopechne.

Posted by Mary Chastain on November 22, 2017 9 Comments
Last February, I blogged about the sexual abuse allegations against former U.S. Olympic Gymnastics and Michigan State University physician Larry Nassar. The allegations came up in September 2016 and by November the number of women grew to 50. The number is now over 140. The number kept growing, with members of the latest U.S. Gymnastics team claiming Nassar abused them. An attorney representing one victim said the case is "Penn State all over again" due to "the same kind of institutional failures, involving multiple victims violated by a trusted staffer." On Wednesday, Nassar pled guilty to numerous charges of sexual abuse. His agreement with the prosecutors contained a prison sentence of 25 to 40 years.
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