When Al Franken Was Funny

JULY 15--As Senator Al Franken today prepares to question Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, we're reprising a letter that the newest Judiciary Committee member once wrote to the head of George W. Bush's Justice Department. In a missive to Attorney General John Ashcroft, the comedian once claimed to be writing a book on abstinence and asked Ashcroft to 'share a moment when you were tempted to have sex, but were able to overcome your urges through willpower and strength of character. Be funny!' Franken, who claimed to have already received personal abstinence stories from other Bush administration officials for 'Savin' It,' his purported book, also asked Ashcroft, 'Did a young woman ever think you were homosexual just because you wouldn't have sex with her? Be serious!' Franken's letter to Ashcroft can be found here. Franken eventually wrote Ashcroft to apologize for his 'imprudent attempt at satire,' which was written on letterhead from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, where the comedian was a fellow. (2 pages)