Rep. Trent Franks Resigns Immediately After Aide Says He Pressured To Pay Her $5 Million To Carry His Baby

December 8, 2017 Politics, Scandal

The Washington Post reports:

Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), facing an ethics investigation over alleged sexual harassment, announced Friday that he will resign immediately following his wife’s admission to the hospital.

Franks had said Thursday that he would resign at the end of January, but said Friday that his wife’s ailment had prompted him to change his plans and immediately step down.

“Last night, my wife was admitted to the hospital in Washington, D.C. due to an ongoing ailment,” he 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.

From the Associated Press.

A former aide to Republican Rep. Trent Franks has told The Associated Press the congressman repeatedly pressed her to carry his child, at one point offering her $5 million to act as a surrogate.

The eight-term Arizona lawmaker abruptly resigned Friday, bowing to an ultimatum from Speaker Paul Ryan. Ryan told Franks that he would refer the allegations to the Ethics Committee, and urged him to step aside.

And from Politico:



Arizona Rep. Trent Franks allegedly made unwanted advances toward female staffers in his office and retaliated against one who rebuffed him, according to House GOP sources with knowledge of a complaint against him.

The allegations, which reached Speaker Paul Ryan and top GOP leaders in recent days, led to Franks’ sudden resignation this week. Franks originally announced that he would resign on Jan. 31, 2018. But just hours after POLITICO inquired about the allegations, he sped up his resignation and left office Friday.

The sources said Franks approached two female staffers about acting as a potential surrogate for him and his wife, who has struggled with fertility issues for years. But the aides were concerned that Franks was asking to have sexual relations with them. It was not clear to the women whether he was asking about impregnating the women through sexual intercourse or in vitro fertilization. Franks opposes abortion rights as well as procedures that discard embryos.

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