Former Congressman Seeks Comeback After Leaving Office Amid Cancel Culture Controversy
Former Arizona Republican Rep. Trent Franks is seeking to win back the House seat he gave up during the height of the #MeToo movement in 2017.
The eight-term congressman admitted to discussing the topic of surrogacy with two of his female staff members in 2015 while he and his wife were struggling with fertility issues. One of the staffers complained to the House speaker’s office two years later, leading to Franks’ resignation.
Now he is running to fill the 8th Congressional District seat being vacated by retiring GOP Rep. Debbie Lesko. It is located to the north and west of Phoenix in Maricopa County.
Franks decided to throw his hat in the ring and will face 2022 U.S. Senate candidate Blake Masters, as well as 2022 Arizona attorney general candidate Abe Hamadeh, Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma and state Sen. Anthony Kern, among others, in the Republican primary, The Arizona Republic reported in November.
“Substantively, I am the only candidate in the race with an unassailable conservative congressional legislative and voting record,” Franks said in a statement provided to The Western Journal.
Franks served on the House Armed Services and Judiciary committees, and his legislative focus included defense-related issues such as sponsoring legislation that fortified the nation’s infrastructure against electromagnetic pulse attacks and strengthened U.S. missile defense capability.
He authored landmark school choice legislation that has survived three U.S. Supreme Court challenges.
Franks also was the prime sponsor of major pro-life legislation that passed the House.
“It is hard to overstate the enormous advantage and leverage 15 years of congressional seniority gives me to be able to make an immediate difference for Arizona and this country in this critical time. This point alone played a substantial role in my decision to run,” he said.
“I believe any thinking person recognizes that it is a profoundly dangerous time in the world for America and our children’s future. Joe Biden and the lunatic left seem hell-bent on making this, the greatest nation in the history of the world, unrecognizable,” Franks added.
The former lawmaker also addressed the surrogacy controversy that resulted in his decision to leave Congress.
The Associated Press reported in December 2017 that then-House Speaker Paul Ryan had confronted Franks regarding conversations about surrogacy he allegedly had with two staff members, “which he did not deny.” Ryan then filed a complaint with the House Committee on Ethics.
Franks announced his resignation that month saying, “[I]n the midst of this current cultural and media climate, I am deeply convinced I would be unable to complete a fair House Ethics investigation before distorted and sensationalized versions of this story would put me, my family, my staff, and my noble colleagues in the House of Representatives through hyperbolized public excoriation.”
“Given the nature of numerous allegations and reports across America in recent weeks, I want to first make one thing completely clear. I have absolutely never physically intimidated, coerced, or had, or attempted to have, any sexual contact with any member of my congressional staff,” he said.
Franks’ decision to leave office came the same week that Democratic Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota resigned amid allegations from eight women that he had forcibly kissed or groped them, according to The Washington Times.
Additionally, Democratic Rep. John Conyers of Michigan resigned that week after a number of women had come forward to accuse him of sexual misconduct that spanned several decades.
A former female member of Franks’ senior staff defended him during the controversy, telling Fox News in 2017 that his “uncomfortable” surrogacy conversations shouldn’t be lumped in with the sexual harassment or sexual abuse allegations leveled against Conyers and others.
“I have never seen any slightest bit of sexual harassment or intimidation. He has treated every single member that I’ve seen of his staff with dignity and respect,” she said.
Franks and the staff member who made the complaint against him have since reconciled, according to a document provided to The Western Journal by a representative of the former congressman.
In the Joint Statement of Reconciliation — which was signed by Franks and his former staffer in November 2018, according to the representative — both agreed that Franks had apologized to the staffer and all others who were affected by the incident. The staffer accepted his apology and expressed appreciation for his efforts to address her concerns.
Both also agreed “there was never any sexual contact between them and that at no time were there ever any statements of sexual or romantic interest on either of their parts toward the other.”
The Associated Press, The Washington Post and The New York Times reported that Franks had allegedly offered the staff member, who requested to remain anonymous, $5 million to be a surrogate.
The reconciliation statement refuted this claim, saying, “Both agree that their discussions related to surrogacy never reached the point of any financial negotiations or any offers of specific financial compensation.”
In the document, they both further agreed that “Congressman Franks never pressured or intimidated her,” that he “never mentioned or discussed the subject with her again after her very first indication she was not interested in becoming a surrogate,” and that “he treated her fairly throughout her employment.”
Finally, both agreed that “the matter had been amicably reconciled and resolved” between the two of them and that “Congressman Franks and his former staffer sincerely wish each other the best in life going forward.”
When asked about the controversy and the November 2018 reconciliation statement, Franks gave the following written response to The Western Journal, which is published in full:
First, I would just say that there is genuinely no grudge or ill will in my heart toward anyone.
My wife and I have two so deeply longed-for and profoundly beloved teenage children carried for us by a wonderful surrogate genetically unrelated to them. In light of that prolonged effort, I have had several conversations with private individuals related to surrogacy and infertility over the span of many years. I have certainly and unequivocally acknowledged that the person who made the complaint told the truth when she said we had discussions regarding surrogacy and infertility.
I truly did not intend to make her uncomfortable, nor did I realize I had done so until nearly two years later. I’ve also stated before that it was inappropriate for me as an employer with supervisorial authority to have that conversation with someone who was an employee rather than a private individual. I know I was ultimately responsible for what happened, and it is something I very sincerely regret. I have genuinely apologized to her and anyone else affected, and she has graciously accepted that apology.
I have also since learned that some of the comments or claims attributed to her in the news articles were those she never made. For instance, media reports of an offer of $5 million in compensation were not true. I never made any such offer. Things like this are so complicated to navigate when one doesn’t know who or which anonymous sources are saying what, or what hearsay or misunderstanding is involved. Given those realities, and the gross double standard against conservatives in the leftist media, the reconciliation that occurred a year after I left Congress would sadly have been next to impossible during that unique time.
The intention was to publicly release the joint reconciliation letter shortly after we both signed it, but I just concluded that there was no real purpose in doing so because no one was really listening at that point and so much of the information was already in my original statement. There was never any requirement of any kind on my part, but I was then, and remain, committed to never publicly disclosing the name of the staffer. I truly and very genuinely do wish her only the very best in life going forward.
Franks said he hopes his 15 years in Congress representing Arizona voters as a constitutional conservative will hold him in good stead in the August primary.
“I am just very humbly asking them to stand with me again in such a time as this. I have learned some priceless and unforgettable lessons that I truly believe will help me serve them and this country better than ever before,” he said.
“With God’s help and their support, I hope we can charge the gates together, leave it all on the battlefield, and do our best to fight for our children and the future of human freedom in this profoundly critical time for America.”
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