Here's another thing that bothers me about Franken's assassination: the photo

[tandem5]

81. I agree. It is important to be accurate about the accusation...

And this all falls under the current theme of distorted facts trumping reality: All we can do is operate off of what has been claimed and what the existing evidence shows. In this case she said that she had been asleep when it happened. I'm not aware of any confirmed claim that others witnessed him touching her. So she cannot say for certain he made contact and by all appearances it looks like a gag photo.

So in terms of the accusation all one can reasonably say is that it appears as though he was part of a gag photo in which it was made to appear that he was touching her. So in those terms the argument can be made that is was wrong for him to use her in the photo without her consent and that is a very real, and valid claim, but absent of any additional information that should've been how the media presented it, but instead it was sloppily registered as a check mark under the "groping" column.

As a slightly off-topic note that adds credence to the idea that it was a gag photo. A 2003 (not 2006) Christmas in Kuwait event appears to show a scripted act in which it is recommended that she should have a 'breast examination' and in response Franken holds out his hands in a similar way to the photo. I want to be clear though that even if the photo might stem from a reenactment of a scripted element in a show it would still be wrong if she were not awake at the time and "in" on the joke.

Additionally I think the topic of the USO tours was not adequately presented by the media. These shows are historically bawdy and over the top. This is not an excuse for Franken, but it does offer a fair context.

None of this takes away from the veracity of the other claims and that's the point. We need to emphasize that each accusation made should be addressed uniquely and seriously on its own merits. We shouldn't be afraid of being accurate because we are afraid it might jeopardize other claims or the larger movement. If we play that game of mutual dependency we help the likes of Steve Bannon destroy everything with one calculated fabrication.