After being accused by four women of sexual misconduct, Sen. Al Franken can’t say if there will be others who come out against him.
Since morning news anchor and model, Leeann Tweeden, published a damning photograph of Sen. Franken and accused him of forcibly kissing her, three other women have spoken out against him for grabbing their butts while taking pictures at the State Fair.
Sen. Franken has since apologized for making his accusers feel “uncomfortable” and stated that he wants “to be a better man,” according to a statement he gave to Minneapolis Public Radio.
Although Sen. Franken apologised to his accusers, it is difficult to see what in fact he is apologizing for, considering he says that he doesn’t remember any of the things he is being accused of -- save the one where there’s picture evidence.
Instead, he seemed to apologize for the way that his accusers felt about him, claiming that while he did not remember grabbing anyone’s butt, he “respected” the women for speaking out, according to the Washington Post.“I would never intentionally” grope anyone, [but] we have to listen to women and respect what they say,” he claimed.
The Post reports:
Interviewer Cathy Wurzer asked Franken if more women might step forward “to accuse you of groping, patting, whatever, or is this it?”“If you had said to me two weeks ago that a woman was going to say that I had made her uncomfortable and disrespected her in one of these ways I would have said ‘no,’” Franken responded. He added, “So, you know, I don’t know. I can’t say.”
He continued his radio interview by stating, “I take photographs at the State Fair with thousands of people,” and finished with, “I'm someone who, you know, hugs people. I've learned from these stories that in some of these encounters I have crossed the line for some women.”
Why, there it is, Franken. "Crossing the line" is what you apologize for!