-Congress has been rocked
by its own sexual misconduct allegations this week
with Senator Al Franken
being accused of sexual harassment.
Yet more women coming forward to accuse Alabama Senate candidate
Roy Moore of sexually assaulting them as teenagers.
For more on this, it's time for "A Closer Look."
[ Cheers and applause ]
The avalanche of sexual harassment allegations
in the last few weeks has shown us that predatory behavior
is everywhere in virtually every aspect of society --
in the news business, in entertainment,
and in politics.
Every day, there are more revelations,
and this week, we started to get a sense
of just how pervasive sexual harassment is in Congress, too.
-There are two members of Congress,
Republican and Democrat, right now, who serve,
who have been subject to review,
or not have been subject to review,
but have engaged in sexual harassment.
These harasser propositions, such as,
"Are you going to be a good girl?"
to perpetrators exposing their genitals,
to victims having their private parts
grabbed on the House floor.
-That is awful.
I'd say Congress is full of dicks,
but most of them look more like ball sacks.
[ Laughter ]
And today, we also learned, yet again,
as if more evidence was needed,
that this is not a partisan problem.
There are sexual harassers
of all political persuasions in both parties.
Take Minnesota Senator Al Franken.
Today, an anchor for KABC in Los Angeles
said, "Senator Al Franken kissed and groped me
without my consent during a USO tour in 2006,"
and shared this photo of Franken groping her
while she was asleep.
That is horrifying.
And she's wearing Army gear because it's a USO tour,
but, honestly, who could blame women
if they started wearing military gear
whenever they're around men?
"Where are you going in a helmet and a flak jacket?"
"The subway." [ Laughter ]
This is a pervasive problem that affects every aspect of society
and every political party,
and everyone should be held accountable,
from Al Franken to Roy Moore to Bill Clinton
to the current President of the United States.
And yet amid all of this, there are still Republicans
defending Moore, their nominee for Senate in Alabama,
who, of course, has been accused
of sexually assaulting underage girls.
Take, for example, Alabama Congressman, Mo Brooks,
who said he still plans to support Moore
because the conservative agenda is vastly more important
than contested sexual allegations
from four decades ago.
An ABC reporter tried to ask Brooks
if he believes the very credible accounts
of the women who accused Moore of sexual assault,
and Brooks literally ran away from him during the interview.
[ Shoes tapping ]
"Bad day to wear my tap shoes."
[ Laughter, cheers, applause ]
I'd tell Mo Brooks to go to hell,
but it looks like that's where he's trying to get.
[ Laughter ]
That whole scene reminds me of the M.C. Escher drawing
titled "The Chicken [bleep]"
[ Laughter ]
Of course, part of the reason Republicans are so desperate
to ignore questions about Moore
is that even the ones who say they believe his accusers
can't explain why they don't also believe the women
who have accused President Trump of sexual assault.
A reporter for The Huffington Post
valiantly tried to get Wyoming Senator Mike Enzi
to answer that question, but Enzi wouldn't budge.
[ Laughter ]
You've got to admire -- [ Cheers and applause ]
You've got to admire The Huffington Post's effort.
Reporters should just keep doing that
until Republicans answer the questions.
"Look, I just want to talk about building a wall."
"Okay. should we build a wall
between teenagers and Roy Moore?"
[ Laughter ]
A reporter for NBC News similarly tried
to get an answer about Moore
from Arkansas Republican Senator Tom Cotton with no luck.
Here's that transcript.
So, technically, the elevators had more to say
in that transcript than Tom Cotton.
So, hey, elevator, do you think Roy Moore should drop out?
[ Laughter and applause ]
The refusal by many Republicans, including the President,
to discuss Moore's situation
comes as we keep getting information
about how creepy his behavior was.
Earlier this week, it was reported that Moore
was actually banned from the Gadsden Mall and the YMCA.
He got banned from the YMCA despite dressing exactly
like one of The Village People.
[ Laughter and applause ]
Now, yesterday, on MSNBC, Moore's lawyer, Trenton Garmon,
tried to dispute the claim that Moore was banned from the mall,
but in the process, he seemed to confirm
that there were, indeed, complaints about his behavior.
-I was engaged in litigation with the Gadsden Mall.
It had a settlement that was confidential.
I'm intimately familiar with the procedures
inside of the Gadsden Mall, and from what I have been told,
has never been a list with Roy Moore
banned from being at the mall.
So they processed that out, and they determined,
"No, whatever it is that someone has said
has made them uncomfortable,
we don't find it to be worthy to put them on a list.
-Is it not cause for concern that there would even be
any sort of settlement with the Gadsden Mall?
Roy Moore was in his 30s.
What type of settlement would there be?
-[ Clears throat ] No, there was not
a settlement with Roy Moore, had nothing to do --
Roy Moore has never had a settlement
with the Gadsden Mall.
I'm talking about my personal experience as a litigator.
I have represented people against the Gadsden Mall.
-Wait. You've been a lawyer in other cases of People v. Mall?
[ Laughter ]
So I guess that you've been banned from the mall
and need a lawyer, Trenton Garmon is your man.
[ Laughter ]
But the weirdest part of the interview
that Moore's lawyer gave to MSNBC
came when he tried to defend Moore's claim
that he always asked for permission
from a girl's mother before dating her.
Garmon tried to argue that that kind of behavior
was common in other cultures,
and threw in some gross racism when he tried to cite
MSNBC anchor Ali Velshi's background to bolster his case.
-Why would he need permission from any of these girls' mothers
if they weren't underage? -Not underage.
-Sure, that's a good question.
Culturally speaking, I would say there's differences.
I looked up Ali's background there.
And, wow, that's awesome that you have got
such a diverse background.
It's really cool to read through that.
But point is this --
-What does Ali's background have to do with dating a 14-year-old?
-I'm not finished with the context of it.
-Well, please answer.
What does Ali Velshi's background have to do
with dating under-- children, 14-year-old girls?
-Sure. In other countries,
there's arrangement through parents
for what we would refer to... -Ali's from Canada.
-as consensual marriage. -Ali's from Canada.
[ Laughter ]
-So, either Trenton Garmon is a racist,
or he thinks Canada has arranged marriages.
And yet in spite of all this damning evidence
about Moore's predatory and grotesque behavior,
Trump still has said nothing about what Moore should do.
In fact, yesterday, he spoke at the White House
about his trip to Asia, and completely ignored questions
about Moore from reporters.
-America is back.
And the future has never looked brighter.
Thank you, God bless you,
and God bless the United States of America.
Thank you very much. Thank you.
Thank you all.
-Should Roy Moore resign, Mr. President?
Do you believe his accusers?
Do you believe his accusers of Roy Moore, Mr. President?
Should he resign?
-If the future is so bright,
why do you look so bummed out walking away?
"Everything is great,
and there's nothing to be upset about."
[ Laughter and applause ]
And while some Republicans
are desperate to ignore the questions,
others are urging Trump to take a stand,
like South Carolina Senator, Lindsey Graham,
who had this to say about Moore.
-I met a lot of people in the mall,
and if you get kicked out of the mall,
that's a pretty bad situation to find yourself in.
[ Laughter ]
I mean, I agree, but why have you met
a lot of people in the mall?
"I got a booth. It's called Lindsey's Nut Hut.
It's mostly pecans.
Those pecans are as sweets as old Lindsey."
[ Laughter ]
This is a society-wide problem borne out of systemic misogyny
and abuse of power, and both parties
need to take it seriously, no matter who's accused.
Don't you agree, Congressman Mo Brooks?
[ Laughter ]
This has been "A Closer Look."
[ Cheers and applause ]