Democratic Minnesota Sen. Al Franken is not planning to resign amid allegations he groped and made unwanted sexual advances towards news anchor Leeann Tweeden.
A spokesman for Franken told The Minneapolis Star-Tribune on Saturday that the senator was not going to resign, but the sexual assault claims have made him do “a lot of reflecting” on his actions.
“He is spending time with his family in Washington, D.C., and will be through the Thanksgiving holiday,” Franken’s spokesperson told the Star-Tribune. They also said he’s “doing a lot of reflecting.”
Tweeden claims that Franken sexually harassed and assaulted her on a number of occasions during a USO entertainment tour in the Middle East in 2006. Franken, a former writer and actor for “Saturday Night Live,” reportedly wrote a script for a USO show that had him kissing Tweeden. She claims he harassed her during rehearsals.
.@LeeannTweeden writes, “You…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.”
The only person who should be ashamed in this photo is @SenFranken pic.twitter.com/sjHpwC9HKL
— Amber Athey (@amber_athey) November 16, 2017
She also says that she found a photo after returning home from the tour that shows Franken with his hands over her breasts and smiling.
Tweeden described the allegations in a story as unwanted, forcible sexual advances.
“You (Franken) knew exactly what you were doing,” Tweeden 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.”
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