The renewed national debate on sexual assault and harassment reached Capitol Hill on Thursday after a television and radio show host accused Sen. Al Franken of unwanted kissing and groping more than a decade ago, drawing universal condemnation from both Democrats and Republicans.
Mr. Franken, Minnesota Democrat, said he remembered the facts differently than did Leeann Tweeden, who said the unwanted encounters came in 2006 while Mr. Franken was still a comic, as they were doing a tour to entertain American troops.
“I respect women. 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,” Mr. Franken said in a statement.
But his colleagues on Capitol Hill said he will face a grilling by the Senate ethics committee.
Ms. Tweeden, an anchor on TalkRadio 790 KABC in Los Angeles, said in a post on her company’s website that Mr. Franken had written a sketch for the two of them to act out together during the tour. While rehearsing the sketch, Ms. Tweeden said, Mr. Franken forcibly kissed her and later had a photo taken of himself grabbing her chest while she slept.
“You knew exactly what you were doing. You forcibly kissed me without my consent, grabbed my breasts while I was sleeping and had someone take a photo of you doing it, knowing I would see it later, and be ashamed,” Ms. Tweeden said in the post.
Ms. Tweeden said at a press conference Thursday that she wanted to encourage other women to step forward. She said she was spurred by the account of Rep. Jackie Speier, a California Democrat who has gone public with her own account of being harassed as a young Capitol Hill staffer.
“People make mistakes. I’m not calling for him to step down. That’s not my place to say that,” Ms. Tweeden said. “If there were other people that come out and say he’s done this — I don’t know.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, and Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, said Mr. Franken will face a review from the Senate’s ethics committee.
“As with all credible allegations of sexual harassment or assault, I believe the ethics committee should review the matter. I hope the Democratic leader will join me on this. Regardless of party, harassment and assault are completely unacceptable — in the workplace or anywhere else,” Mr. McConnell said.
Mr. Franken said he will “gladly cooperate” in the investigation.
“I certainly don’t remember the rehearsal for the skit in the same way, but I send my sincerest apologies to Leeann. As to the photo, it was clearly intended to be funny but wasn’t. I shouldn’t have done it,” Mr. Franken said in a statement.
Mr. Franken was elected to the Senate in 2008 and won re-election in 2014 after a career in comedy that included mocking conservative pundits.
Mr. Franken also came under fire from President Trump, who famously bragged of groping women during a 2005 Access Hollywood interview.
“The Al Frankenstien picture is really bad, speaks a thousand words. Where do his hands go in pictures 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 while she sleeps? …..” the president tweeted late Thursday. “And to think that just last week he was lecturing anyone who would listen about sexual harassment and respect for women.”
On Thursday, he became toxic for colleagues.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin Democrat, said on MSNBC that she intends to donate all the funds she received from Mr. Franken’s PAC to charity. She is also up for re-election next year.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee called on other senators to also give up Franken-tainted money, and demanded that Democrats — particularly those like Ms. Baldwin who are up for re-election — denounce their colleague.
Many of them did.
“I’m shocked and concerned,” said Sen. Claire McCaskill, Missouri Democrat. “The behavior described is completely unacceptable. Comedy is no excuse for inappropriate conduct, and I believe there should be an ethics investigation.”
Democrats said that even as Mr. Franken faces scrutiny, the focus should be on President Trump.
“Assertions of deplorable behavior by President Trump have been made by many women over many years, and I deeply regret those allegations will never be scrutinized the way they should be,” said Sen. Thomas R. Carper, Delaware Democrat.
The national harassment and assault debate was reignited this year by reports about major figures in Hollywood, but high-profile members of the press and in politics have also been snared.
Speaker Paul D. Ryan this week ordered mandatory training for all House lawmakers and staffers warning against inappropriate behavior and telling victims of their rights.
During a hearing on the issue Tuesday, Ms. Speier, who has spearheaded the matter, said Congress has paid over $15 million to victims of harassment and discrimination.
She added that two sitting lawmakers are known to sexually harass staffers, but she did not reveal their names.
In Alabama, former state Chief Justice Roy Moore, the Republican nominee for a special Senate election, has been accused by several women who say he made advances to them when he was in his 30s and they were in their teens — including one woman who said she was 14 when Mr. Moore sexually assaulted her.
Also Thursday a woman said George H.W. Bush touched her inappropriately in 1992 while he was president. The woman, who asked not to be named, told CNN that Mr. Bush squeezed her buttocks during a photo at a Michigan fundraiser for his re-election campaign.
She is the fifth woman to accuse the former president of inappropriate touching but the first to say it happened while he was in office.
Previous claims were attributed to Mr. Bush’s advanced age and wheelchair-bound state. His spokesman said of previous accusations that the former president “has patted women’s rears” to make a joke and “try to put people at ease” around him.
I’ve decided it’s time to tell my story. #MeToohttps://t.co/TqTgfvzkZg
— Leeann Tweeden (@LeeannTweeden) November 16, 2017
• Sally Persons can be reached at spersons@washingtontimes.com.
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