Franken responds to groping allegations: My conduct 'makes me feel ashamed'

Al Franken.
(Image credit: JASON CONNOLLY/AFP/Getty Images)

Democratic Sen. Al Franken (Minn.) issued a statement in response to reporter Leeann Tweeden's account of him groping her in her sleep and kissing her without her consent while on a USO tour in 2006. "I respect women," he said. "I don't respect men who don't. And the fact that my own actions have given people a good reason to doubt that makes me feel ashamed."

It was Franken's second statement in response to the allegations Thursday, after he initially told an NBC reporter that he did not remember the incident "in the same way" as Tweeden described it but nonetheless sent his "sincerest apologies to Leeann." Regarding a photo Tweeden provided of him groping her breasts while she was asleep, Franken said it was "clearly intended to be funny but wasn't."

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.