Al Franken Body-Slamming the NY Post now

Franken has launched a full-scale war against the New York Post, accusing the money-losing tabloid - and Post political reporter Vincent Morris - of lying about his role in subduing a heckler at a Howard Dean rally in Manchester, N.H., two weeks ago.

In a Jan. 27 story mysteriously datelined "Exeter, N.H.," Morris wrote that Franken "body-slammed a demonstrator to the ground after the man tried to shout down" the former Vermont governor. Morris' story failed to mention that the Dean rally took place at the Palace Theater in Manchester, about 30 miles west of Exeter.

Franken told me: "I didn't body-slam anyone to the floor. The Post's story makes me look like a nut, and it has been circulated all over the world by the right-wing echo chamber."

Franken said that Dean aides and security staffers accepted his offer to help subdue the screaming protester after nearly 10 minutes of disruption.