Daily Digest: Can Franken survive?
Good morning and welcome to the day after Cyber Monday, which I call Tuesday. Here's the Digest.
1. Sen. Al Franken returned to work Monday. He also spoke to reporters on Capitol Hill for the first time since multiple women have accused him of inappropriate sexual conduct, ranging from forcible kissing to unwanted touching. He took a few questions, repeated that he would not resign and expressed remorse. Many Minnesota Democrats who supported Franken in the last election say they were shocked and are saddened by the misconduct allegations. Some don't want to give Franken a free pass but also don't think he should resign. Some others say there should be zero tolerance for harassment, and that Franken should leave. (MPR News)
2. Minnesota Supreme Court Justice David Stras is headed to Washington this week for a federal courts confirmation hearing, a spokesman said Monday. President Trump nominated Stras in May for a vacancy on the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. His nomination had stalled when Franken declined to sign off on a confirmation hearing; fellow Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar had consented to a hearing. Home-state senators typically get deference under Senate “blue slip” custom. But the Senate Judiciary Committee intends to press ahead anyway. The spokesman for Stras said he will appear Wednesday for a hearing where nominations are the only agenda item. Stras also has appeared on a list of potential future U.S. Supreme Court appointments if more seats come open under Trump. (MPR News)
3. Minnesota House Speaker Kurt Daudt expects an outside investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct against former Rep. Tony Cornish to wrap up soon. It's unclear if results will be made public, he said. "If anything that came up during the process of that report that points to anyone else we'll need to know that as well and deal with it appropriately," Daudt said. Cornish formally submitted his letter of resignation to the House Monday. Daudt added he would be open to a review — whether internal or external — of the Legislature's process for receiving, investigating and otherwise handling sexual harassment complaints. (MPR News)
4. Former Minnesota attorney general and one-time DFL gubernatorial contender Warren Spannaus died Monday at age 86. Spannaus was born in St. Paul and grew up on Rice Street. He served in the Navy in the 1950s, and then attended the University of Minnesota and the law school there. He joined the staff of then-Attorney General Walter Mondale in 1963 and later joined Mondale's U.S. Senate staff, the former vice president said. "This guy deserves a very significant place in Minnesota history and the history of legal rights and justice," Mondale said. "He was an extraordinary public leader and human being, and I would hope that Minnesotans would agree with me on that." (MPR News)
5. Faced with a huge jump in the cost of law enforcement in the wake of the 2016 fatal police shooting of Philando Castile, Falcon Heights is preparing to impose a form of taxation on the Minnesota State Fair and the University of Minnesota’s St. Paul campus — large tax-exempt entities within its borders. “Everyone thinks we get a penny off every Pronto Pup. That’s just not the case,” said Falcon Heights Mayor Peter Lindstrom. Falcon Heights dropped its $670,000 annual law enforcement contract with St. Anthony when it was unable to reach an agreement in the wake of the Castile shooting. The new contract with the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office came in a hair over $1 million, said City Administrator Sack Thongvanh. (Star Tribune)
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