Did Al Franken do anything illegal?

[pat_k]

32. I'm not an attorney, but I think an actual victim (i.e., not Tweeden)...

...would have standing to bring a federal civil case, but I'm not sure which district court. If the nature of harassment constitutes a violation of federal civil law, procedure would necessarily need to support a person's ability to bring a case (otherwise, why have a law?). The USO is an entity that would fall under US jurisdiction. I would assume people employed by USO would be subject to federal law too.

in re: civil offenses committed overseas by an entity that fails within US jurisdiction (e.g., entities like a multinational company, and I assume the USO), I know people can bring a case for discrimination in federal court, but it is my understanding that the law requires they attempt to settle through an administrative process by filing complaint with EEOC first. Not sure about suits against persons employee by a US company or multinational company who commit civil offenses overseas. If it occurred on the "watch" of USO, I imagine a complaint against them could be brought for fostering a culture of harassment or something. If it went to court, perhaps the perpetrator(s) could be named as a Defendant too.

It's probably not helpful to be reaching with speculation like this, but it is an interesting question.

On Edit:
Just to be clear, my answer to the question did Franken do anything criminally or civilly unlawful is an unequivocal NO. I'm just speculating about recourse a person might have if they actually were the victim of harassment that was a violation of civil law.