Al Franken Insists He’s “Not That Guy” in First Late Night Interview Since Resigning

Almost two years after Al Franken resigned from the Senate amid allegations of sexual misconduct, the disgraced politician is slowly returning to the public eye. On Thursday night, just one day after news broke that he will host a weekly SiriusXM show about the 2020 election, Franken took his rehabilitation tour to Conan, where he addressed the misconduct allegations head-on. In his first late night appearance since resigning in December 2017, the former senator and Saturday Night Live star insisted that he’s “not that guy,” adding that he “deserved due process” before being forced out of Congress. “It really needed to have a process, but I just couldn’t stay either. It was awful,” Franken told O’Brien. “There were no good choices.”

O’Brien wasted no time before getting to the meat of the interview. “The #MeToo movement, I think we can all agree, has brought to light a lot of offensive behavior by a lot of men, and rightfully so,” said the TBS host. “Many people think that your case — it made them feel uneasy, and there was some questions and uneasiness about your particular situation and how it was resolved.” O’Brien brought up The New Yorker’s “very exhaustive” piece, which includes quotes from seven Democratic senators who now regret calling for Franken’s resignation after the allegations surfaced. “Is this a watershed moment for you? Getting the support, is that important to you?” asked O’Brien.

“It was very gratifying to have seven colleagues who had all apologized to me, but to be public,” replied Franken. “They just basically all said that I deserved due process. And I believe I did too.” When O’Brien pressed him on why he resigned before an investigation could take place, Franken said that his “committee work would be at risk,” and his staff “isolated” in Congress. “I just couldn’t serve the people of Minnesota. But, you know, it really needed to have a process, but I just couldn’t stay either,” he said. “It was awful. There were no good choices.”

After facing a “tremendous amount of pressure,” Franken chose to walk away. “I don’t think I had any other choice,” he said.

Franken went on to say that in the almost two years since he resigned, he’s been “a lot more mindful in [his] interactions with pretty much everyone.” Continued the comedian-turned-politician, “People who know me know that I’m not that guy. That guy that 36 of my colleagues demanded that I go and the pressure came on me, in no uncertain terms, that I had to go.”

Watch Al Franken’s interview with Conan O’Brien in the clips above.

Where to stream Conan