MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle wondered Monday whether going after Sen. Al Franken (D., Minn.) over allegations he grabbed a woman's behind was a "slippery slope," worrying that if the media went after every butt-slapper in power industries that no one would be left.
Ruhle reported Monday on the latest allegation against Franken: Lindsay Menz said Franken grabbed and squeezed her buttocks while taking a picture with her at the Minnesota State Fair in 2010.
Franken was already under fire after Leeann Tweeden, a Los Angeles-based radio news anchor, wrote he aggressively kissed her without her consent while rehearsing for a USO skit in 2006. She also published a photo of Franken appearing to grab her breasts while she slept. Franken subsequently apologized and said he would cooperate with an ethics investigation.
"Rick, I turn to you," Ruhle said in a clip flagged by NewsBusters. "This story could be true, Al Franken is saying he doesn’t remember it. How slippery a slope—and again, I am not excusing that behavior."
"Of course not," guest Rick Tyler said.
"How slippery a slope is it?" Ruhle asked. "I mean, again, I’m just speaking as somebody who spent 15 years of her life working on Wall Street. But if we’re going to start to go after everyone in every power industry for something like a butt slap, I’m worried that there’s going to be no one left running anything."
Tyler said "that may be true," going on to say Franken's apology while adding he didn't remember the incident was "a little strange."