Al Franken In New Flap Over Unpaid Worker's Comp

STUART'S SURPRISE

Latest Franken Mess Reminiscent Of Past Flaps







Poor Stuart Smalley: if only the world would stop picking on him.

First, it was that unpleasant matter with the $875,000 in taxpayer funds illegally diverted from the Boys & Girls Club to Air America's account. He couldn't have been aware of that, right?

Then, it was his own bloated salary and benefits, which sucked the liberal talk radio network dry at a time when it was having trouble raising cash.

And more recently, even his exercise room habits have drawn unwelcome attention. What's a senate hopeful from New York, **ahem** Minnesota, to do?


Now, a new flap has emerged, one with a timeline that parallels his Air America tenure. Minnesota Democrats Exposed scooped everyone this time, with the mainstream media playing catch- up.

From the Minneapolis Star- Tribune:

DFL Senate candidate Al Franken owes a $25,000 penalty to the New York State Workers' Compensation Board for failing to carry workers' compensation insurance for employees of his namesake corporation from 2002 to 2005, state officials said.

New York officials have made numerous attempts to contact Franken about the matter since April 2005 but have gotten no reply.

Campaign spokesman Andy Barr said that neither Franken nor his wife, Franni, were aware of the matter before Tuesday. They have lived in Minneapolis for the past few years and did not know about the state's attempts to reach them in New York City, he said.

But Powerline wonders about the Franken's seemingly- fuzzy timeline:

Franken claims that he was unaware of the matter before Tuesday, when it was brought to light in a series of posts at Minnesota Democrats Exposed. Franken's campaign spokesman told the Star Tribune's Kevin Duchschere that Franken and his wife have lived in Minneapolis for the past few years and did not know about the state's attempts to reach them in New York City.

Is that right? Maybe. But the evasion attempted by his campaign spokesman is misleading at best. I attended a Minnesota Democratic fundraiser on June 11, 2005, at which Franken was the featured speaker. I posted my account of the event and of Franken's talk in "Saturday Night Live with Al Franken." My account relates Franken's statement that Franken was in the process of buying a condominium in Minneapolis in order to relocate himself from New York. Franken had not at the time made the move from New York to Minneapolis.

MDE certainly has caught Franken-fiend in a bit of hypocrisy:

I will add that during a U.S. Senate debate that I attended back on September 30, 2007, Franken said "I'm a corporation, I employ a bunch of people." Franken also said "I love corporations that play by the rules, and we have to make them play by the rules."

The big mystery is why so many in politics, including some on the right, have been so willing to give this two- bit dirty- dealer the benefit of the doubt when he has never shown why he deserves it. We've yet to see Stuart take responsibility for his own actions even one time and doubt that will change now.


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Classic Franken image: David A Lunde