Sen. Franken apologizes for groping a woman in 2006

Sen. Al Franken, D-Minnesota, apologized Thursday after a radio newscaster claimed he groped and kissed her without consent.

Leeann Tweeden released a picture showing Franken groping her while she was asleep. She also described being forcibly kissed by Franken during a rehearsal for a show during a 2006 U.S.O. tour of the Middle East before he took public office.

“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,” Franken wrote in a statement. “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.”

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