Dec 19, 2017

Pat Leahy regrets calling on Al Franken to resign

Sen. Al Franken (left) and Sen. Patrick Leahy on Capitol Hill in 2011. Photo: J. Scott Applewhite / AP

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said in a statement Monday that he was too quick in calling for Sen. Al Franken's (D-Minn.) resignation instead of waiting on an ethics committee to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct and "make its recommendation," according to the Burlington Free Press.

"I have stood for due process throughout my years as a prosecutor and in chairing the Judiciary Committee," said Leahy. "I regret not doing that this time."

Timing: Franken announced his resignation earlier this month, and Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton has appointed Lt. Gov. Tina Smith fill his seat until the 2018 midterm elections.

Take note: Politico initially reported that Leahy had told Franken privately that he regretted his statement calling on Franken to resign.

Go deeper

Axios
52 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Louisville officer: "Breonna Taylor would be alive" if we had served no-knock warrant

Breonna Taylor memorial in Louisville. Photo: Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, the Louisville officer who led the botched police raid that caused the death of Breonna Taylor, said the No. 1 thing he wishes he had done differently is either served a "no-knock" warrant or given five to 10 seconds before entering the apartment: "Breonna Taylor would be alive, 100 percent."

Driving the news: Mattingly, who spoke to ABC News and Louisville's Courier Journal for his public interview, was shot in the leg in the initial moments of the March 13 raid. Mattingly did not face any charges after Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron said he and another officer were "justified" in returning fire to protect themselves against Taylor's boyfriend.

Go deeper (2 min. read)Arrow
Scott Rosenberg, Ashley Gold, Kyle Daly
1 hour ago - Technology

U.S. vs. Google — the siege begins

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

The Justice Department fired the starter pistol on what's likely to be a years-long legal siege of Big Tech by the U.S. government when it filed a major antitrust suit Tuesday against Google.

The big picture: Once a generation, it seems, federal regulators decide to take on a dominant tech company. Two decades ago, Microsoft was the target; two decades before that, IBM.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Dion Rabouin, author of Markets
2 hours ago - Economy & Business

Why the stimulus delay isn't a crisis (yet)

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

If the impasse between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the White House on a new stimulus deal is supposed to be a crisis, you wouldn't know it from the stock market, where prices continue to rise.

  • That's been in no small part because U.S. economic data has held up remarkably well in recent months thanks to the $2 trillion CARES Act and Americans' unusual ability to save during the crisis.
Go deeper (2 min. read)Arrow

Get Axios AM in your inbox

Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!