Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal (Conn.) said Monday on CNN that he believes anyone who received political contributions from Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein should re-donate the money to organizations that fight sexual assault.
Host Wolf Blitzer noted that Blumenthal is donating the money he received from Weinstein, which totaled $5,400 in 2016, to an organization that works against sexual violence.
"He gave a lot of money to Democratic politicians," Blitzer said of Weinstein, who, according to the New York Times, has been accused of sexually harassing at least eight women over the span of nearly 30 years.
"Should Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee, other Democratic politicians follow your lead?" Blitzer asked Blumenthal.
"What I did almost instantly, after learning about this absolutely abominable conduct on Mr. Weinstein's part, was to donate the money to the Connecticut Alliance Against Sexual Violence [sic] that does very good work for women victims and survivors," Blumenthal said.
Blumenthal's communications director, Maria McElwain, told the Washington Free Beacon last week that the senator would be donating the money he received from Weinstein to the Connecticut Alliance to End Sexual Violence.
The Connecticut Democrat added that he believes anyone who received donations from Weinstein should take similar actions.
"I think any of us who received donations from him should do the same, and use it to support the cause of combatting sexual harassment, and sexual assault, and also domestic violence," Blumenthal said.
Weinstein has donated nearly $600,000 to Democrats, including Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, since the early 2000s. Both Clinton and Obama have longstanding ties with Weinstein and have stayed silent on the sexual harassment allegations against the Hollywood producer since they emerged last week. Clinton did not mention Weinstein during a 90-minute speech she delivered at the University of California, Davis on Monday.
Some Democrats who received money from Weinstein have returned the contributions, but many have stayed silent on whether they will return the donations.