Al Franken again accused of inappropriately touching woman during photo-op
Former Sen. Al Franken is facing a new accusation of inappropriate touching, with a woman claiming to have been a victim of Franken while working in 2006 – two years before he was elected to the Minnesota Senate.
The woman, who has chosen to remain anonymous, described the alleged encounter with Franken as part of a series of stories told by victims of sexual assault in New York Magazine. The woman wrote:
"I was just out of college in my first job, working for U.S. senator Patty Murray. Al Franken was the guest speaker at an event in 2006. I was working the photo line, and he pulled me in. Murray said, “Let’s take the picture.” And he puts his hand on my ass. He’s telling the photographer, “Take another one. I think I blinked. Take another one.” And I’m just frozen. It’s so violating. And then he gives me a little squeeze on my buttock, and I am bright red. I don’t say anything at the time, but I felt deeply, deeply uncomfortable. It was such a confusing experience. At first, I didn’t take it all that seriously."
The woman said she cried the moment she received a text alert on her phone when Franken was accused by eight women of inappropriate sexual advances in 2017, prompting his resignation from the U.S. Senate.
The woman said the experience "rocked my confidence."
Franken has been accused of inappropriate sexual advances by nine women. The first allegation was made Nov. 16, 2017, when talk-radio host Leeann Tweeden blogged that Franken forcibly kiss her in 2006.
WCCO reports that Franken has not apologized for any specific moment, but did say he regrets that their encounter left the woman "feeling bad."
