Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., apologized to KABC news anchor Leeann Tweeden after she accused him of groping and forcibly kissing her in 2006, and said a photo showing Franken grabbing Tweeden’s breasts while she was sleeping was meant to be a joke.
“I certainly don’t remember the rehearsal for the skit in the same way, but I send my sincerest apologies to Leeann,” Franken said in a statement. “As to the photo, it was clearly intended to be funny but it wasn’t. I shouldn’t have done it.”
Update: Al Franken calls for ethics probe into allegations he forcibly kissed, groped radio host in 2006
Tweeden said Franken forcibly kissed her while they were practicing for a skit during a USO tour in the Middle East in 2006. According to Tweeden, the senator insisted on practicing a kiss between them prior to the performance, and she said Franken “came at me, put his hand on the back of my head, mashed his lips against mine and aggressively stuck his tongue in my mouth.”
Tweeden then said Franken groped her while she was sleeping on the return flight to the U.S. from Afghanistan at the end of the USO tour. The news anchor included in her first-person column a photo of a smiling Franken with his hands on Tweeden’s breasts. Tweeden appears to be asleep in the picture.
The allegations against Franken come as the House and Senate are working to address issue of sexual assault and harassment on Capitol Hill.
