Senator Al Franken announced on Thursday that he will step down from his position “in the coming weeks” due to his ongoing sexual assault allegations.
“This decision is not about me,” Franken said. “It is about the people of Minnesota.”
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On Nov. 16, radio personality Leeann Tweeden accused Franken of harassing her during a USO tour in 2006, proving a photograph of him grabbing her chest while she was asleep. Several more women have since come forward with accusations of sexual misconduct against the senator.
On Wednesday more than two dozen Democratic senators called for Franken’s resignation.
“Some of the allegations against me are simply not true,” Franken said. “Others I remember very differently. I know in my heart, nothing that I have done as a Senator, nothing, has brought dishonor on this institution, and I am confident that the Ethics Committee would agree.”
Franken has repeatedly apologized for his behavior over the last three weeks.
“The first thing I want to do is apologize: to Leeann, to everyone else who was part of that tour, to everyone who has worked for me, to everyone I represent, and to everyone who counts on me to be an ally and supporter and champion of women. There’s more I want to say, but the first and most important thing—and if it’s the only thing you care to hear, that’s fine—is: I’m sorry,” Franken said in a statement on Nov. 16.
Photo: Instagram / @alfranken
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