vulture festival

Al Franken Won the Respect of Jeff Sessions and Senate Republicans With One Very Specific Celebrity Connection

When Al Franken became a United States senator in 2008, the former Saturday Night Live star and satirist had an uphill battle convincing other politicians that he wasn’t just a comedian — which was made even harder when Majority Leader Harry Reid placed the non-lawyer on the judiciary committee. In a conversation with Robert Smigel at this year’s Vulture Festival, Franken talked about his upcoming book, Al Franken: Giant of the Senate. The senator from Minnesota shared that it wasn’t his argument about conservative-activist judges that won over the respect of his colleagues, but a story about meeting another celebrity. Even bonafide Dragnet fan and current Attorney General Jeff Sessions was impressed.

Al Franken Won Respect From Senate GOP With a Name-Drop