“The Roy Moore story is eight days old and the president put out a statement during his Asia trip on that," Kellyanne Conway said. | Chris Kleponis-Pool/Getty Images Conway explains why Trump tweeted about Franken but not Moore

President Donald Trump felt compelled to tweet out his thoughts on allegations of sexual misconduct against Sen. Al Franken because they represented a “brand new news story,” counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway said Friday, explaining away the difference between the president’s Franken tweets and his relatively couched comments on allegations against Republican Roy Moore.

“Al Franken was a brand new news story yesterday, and the president weighed in as he does on the news of the day often enough,” Conway told Fox News Friday morning. “The Roy Moore story is eight days old and the president put out a statement during his Asia trip on that. And since then, our press secretary has spoken on behalf of the president saying that he believes the people of Alabama will sort out what to do with Roy Moore and with that election.”


Allegations against Franken (D-Minn.) that date back to 2006 surfaced on Thursday when broadcaster Leeann Tweeden said the senator and comedian had kissed her against her will and groped her breasts while she was asleep during a USO tour. A photo of Franken groping Tweeden, apparently taken aboard a military aircraft, was published along with Tweeden’s account.

Franken issued a statement apologizing for his conduct, but Trump still piled on, writing online that “The Al Frankenstien picture is really bad, speaks a thousand words. Where do his hands go in pictures 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 while she sleeps? And to think that just last week he was lecturing anyone who would listen about sexual harassment and respect for women. Lesley Stahl tape?”

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While Trump was quick to attack Franken, his comments on Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore have been relatively muted. Beginning last week with a story in The Washington Post, Moore has been accused of sexually assaulting girls as young as 14 years old, allegations he has denied. A growing list of Republicans have denounced Moore and expressed belief in the accounts of his accusers, but Trump has said little in public about the accusation, issuing a statement through the White House press office that Moore should step aside “if these allegations are true.”

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Thursday pointedly did not call on Moore to drop out of the Alabama special election to fill the seat previously occupied by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, telling reporters that “the people of Alabama should make the decision on who their next senator should be.”

Trump himself has been accused of a range of sexual misconduct by at least 16 women, allegations that he vehemently denied during last year's presidential campaign.