Rep. Charlie Dent said Friday that when a congressman is accused of inappropriate behavior the easiest way to move forward is to resign.
“I will tell you as a former chairman of the House Ethics Committee, and having been around the House awhile, I’ve often found that if we don’t want to set precedents, the easiest way to move forward is for a resignation,” Mr. Dent, Pennsylvania Republican, said on CNN.
He said the powers of the ethics committee are limited and that going through an ethics review can be a grueling process for all those involved.
“John Boehner got some people to resign rather than having the institution going through the turmoil of this type of a real drama,” Mr. Dent said, referring to former House speaker.
But when asked if Sen. Al Franken should resign, Mr. Dent demurred saying it’s not up to him to advise the Minnesota senator.
Mr. Franken was accused of inappropriately grabbing and forcibly kissing a television and radio host on Thursday during a USO tour in 2006, prior to his time in Congress. Both Senate leaders said Mr. Franken needed to be put under an ethics review, which he said he would cooperate with.
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