Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) faced swift condemnation and bipartisan calls for an ethics investigation Thursday after he was accused of forcibly kissing and groping a broadcaster and model while traveling overseas in 2006.
The allegations against Franken by Leeann Tweeden, who traveled with him on a USO trip to the Middle East before he was elected to the Senate, comes amid a growing swell of accusations of sexual misconduct by men in powerful positions.
Beloved by liberals for his fierce attacks on President Trump, Franken found few defenders as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.) called for the ethics committee to investigate his actions.
“Sexual harassment is never acceptable and must not be tolerated,” Schumer said in a statement.
Members of the ethics committee declined to comment.
The quick reaction to the accusations against Franken coincides with intense attention to charges that Alabama Republican Roy Moore made unwelcome sexual overtures to numerous women when they were teenagers. Moore has brushed off calls from GOP leaders to end his Senate campaign.
In an online essay published Thursday morning, Tweeden wrote that Franken had forced his tongue in her mouth during a rehearsal for a skit and then groped her while she was sleeping during a flight home — a moment that was captured in a photograph.
“You knew exactly what you were doing,” she wrote. “You forcibly kissed me without my consent, grabbed my breasts while I was sleeping and had someone take a photo of you doing it, knowing I would see it later and be ashamed.”
After initially issuing a brief apology for his behavior, Franken released a lengthier statement expressing contrition for his behavior.
“I’m sorry,” said the senator, who skipped a series of votes Thursday. “I respect women. I don’t respect men who don’t. And the fact that my own actions have given people a good reason to doubt that makes me feel ashamed.”
Tweeden said she accepted Franken’s apology.
“Yes, people make mistakes, and, of course, he knew he made a mistake,” she said at a news conference in Los Angeles, where she works as a radio news anchor for KABC. She said she would leave any disciplinary action up to Senate leaders and was not calling for Franken to step down. “That’s up to them. I’m not demanding that.”
The hasty condemnations of Franken’s behavior by fellow Democrats underlined the tinderbox atmosphere surrounding allegations of sexual harassment by influential figures.
What in the past might have brushed aside, or taken weeks to build into outrage, instantly consumed the Senate as they saw one of their own join a growing list that includes film producer Harvey Weinstein and actor Kevin Spacey.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) joined those in calling for an ethics investigation of her home-state colleague, saying in a statement, “I strongly condemn this behavior.” Just last week, the Senate unanimously approved a bill co-sponsored by Klobuchar that mandates sexual harassment training for all senators and their staffs.
Trump ignored shouted questions about Franken as he entered a meeting with House Republicans at the Capitol, but White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said later Thursday that it was appropriate…
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