Arizona Congressman Resigns Amid Ethics Investigation
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WASHINGTON (CBSMiami) - Just hours after Minnesota Senator Al Franken announced he was resigning amid sexual harassment allegations, Republican Representative Trent Franks from Arizona said he will also resign after an ethics investigation was opened against him.
The investigation was initiated after two of Franks' staffers said he approached them and asked if they would bear his child as a surrogate.
In a statement, Franks admitted the surrogate discussions made the two female staffers "uncomfortable."
"I have absolutely never physically intimidated, coerced, or had, or attempted to have, any sexual contact with any member of my congressional staff," he wrote in the statement.
The eight-term congressman also wrote that he and his wife have "long struggled with infertility. We experienced three miscarriages."
The ethics investigation into Franks was dropped after he announced he would resign January 31st, 2018.
Unlike Franks, Franken's resignation was expected after mounting pressure to do so. At least eight women accused him of unwanted groping or kissing.
Franken addressed those allegations Thursday morning on the floor of the Senate.
"Some of the allegations against me are simply not true. Others I remember very differently," he said.
Republican Senator John Thune said he hopes this is the beginning of change.
"What happened yesterday is unfortunate in the Senate. But I think on Capitol Hill the discussion that we're having is long overdue. We can't continue to accept the status quo there or anywhere else for that matter," he said.
He added that Alabama Republican Roy Moore is like to face an ethics investigation of his own if he wins next week's Senate race. Six women have accused Moore of pursuing them romantically when they were teenagers and he was in his 30's. The youngest, at the time, was 14.