In his first press conference since he was accused of sexual misconduct, Democratic Senator Al Franken said he is “tremendously sorry” for any behavior that made women feel uncomfortable.
Franken called the accusations against him “humbling” and asserted, “I know that I’ve let a lot of people down.”
“I am going to try to learn from my mistakes and in doing so I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting, and I wanna be someone who add something to this conversation and I hope I can do that,” Franken asserted.
“I am embarrassed. I feel ashamed,” he continued. “What I’m gonna do is I’m going to start my job… I’m going to work as hard as I can for the people of Minnesota and I’m going to start that right now.”
One reporter asked Franken why he could not say with certainty that more accusers would not come forward, and Franken explained that a few weeks ago he would have never guessed that any women would accuse him of sexual misconduct.
TV anchor Leeann Tweeden was the first woman to come forward against Franken when she accused him of forcibly kissing her during a USO tour in 2006. Tweeden also shared a photograph that showed him groping her breasts while she was sleeping. Three other women then accused him of groping their butts during various photo-ops.
Franken reiterated during the press conference that he does not plan to resign from the Senate and will cooperate with an investigation by the Senate Ethics Committee.
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