Rep. Trent Franks, facing ethics investigation, says he will resign immediately
He is accused of asking two female employees to bear his child as a surrogate
Adapted from a story by The Washington Post’s Mike DeBonis.
On Thursday, Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) said he would resign at the end of January. He is facing an ethics investigation over alleged sexual harassment.
But today, after his wife was admitted to a hospital, Franks said he will resign immediately.
“Last night, my wife was admitted to the hospital in Washington, D.C. due to an ongoing ailment,” Franks said in a statement. “After discussing options with my family, we came to the conclusion that the best thing for our family now would be for me to tender my previous resignation effective today, December 8th, 2017.”
The sexual harassment claim
House officials learned that Franks had asked two female employees to bear his child as a surrogate.
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan’s office said in a statement Thursday that Ryan (R-Wis.) had been briefed on “credible claims of misconduct” by Franks last week. Franks did not deny the allegations when Ryan confronted him, according to the speaker’s statement. Ryan told Franks he should resign, and said he would refer the matter to the House Ethics Committee, his statement said.
The House Ethics Committee said it would create a special subcommittee to investigate Franks for conduct “that constitutes sexual harassment and/or retaliation for opposing sexual harassment.”
Three Republicans familiar with the allegations said that Franks had asked the staffers, who worked for him at the time but have since left his office, if they would serve as a surrogate mother for his child.
A spokesman for Franks did not respond to a request for comment on that claim.
Rep. Franks’s public response to the claim
On Thursday in a statement announcing his January resignation, Franks acknowledged that the investigation concerned his “discussion of surrogacy with two previous female subordinates, making each feel uncomfortable.”
Franks said he never “physically intimidated, coerced, or had, or attempted to have, any sexual contact with any member of my congressional staff.”
“However, I do want to take full and personal responsibility for the ways I have broached a topic that, unbeknownst to me until very recently, made certain individuals uncomfortable,” Franks said, adding, “I deeply regret that my discussion of this option and process in the workplace caused distress.”
Franks explained in his statement that he and his wife have long struggled with infertility. After having twins with a surrogate, the couple sought additional children, he said.
