(Eds: Repeats after rephrasing intro)Washington, Nov 17 (AP) Minnesota Senator Al Frankenfaced a storm of criticism and a likely ethics investigationafter a Los Angeles radio anchor accused him of forciblykissing her and groping her in 2006 during a tour by theUnited Service Organisations (USO).
He was the first member of Congress caught up in therecent wave of allegations of sexual abuse and inappropriatebehaviour.
Franken apologised yesterday, but the criticism only grewthrough the day. Fellow Democrats swiftly condemned hisactions, mindful of the current climate as well as theprospect of political blowback.
Republicans, still forced to answer for the multipleallegations facing Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, joinedin pressing for an investigation. Franken said he wouldwelcome it.
Leeann Tweeden posted her allegations, including a photoof Franken and her, on the website of KABC, where she works asa news anchor for a morning radio show. The photo showsFranken posing in a joking manner, smiling at the camera withhis hands on her chest as she naps wearing a flak vest aboarda military plane.
Both had been performing for military personnel inAfghanistan two years before the one-time "Saturday NightLive" comedian was elected to the Senate.
Tweeden said yesterday that before an earlier showFranken had persisted in rehearsing a kiss and "aggressivelystuck his tongue in my mouth."Now, she said, "every time I hear his voice or see hisface, I am angry." She's angry with herself, too, she said,for not speaking out at the time "but I didn't want to rockthe boat."Franken, 66, was the latest public figure to be caught inthe deluge of revelations of sexual harassment and misconductthat have crushed careers, ruined reputations and promptedcriminal investigations in Hollywood, business and beyond.
The swift rebukes from both Republican and Democraticlawmakers suggest that momentum from the online #Metoomovement has begun to spur a culture shift on Capitol Hill,where current and former staffers say misogynistic andpredatory behaviour has long been an open secret.
In a statement yesterday, Franken apologised to Tweedenand his constituents while maintaining that he remembered therehearsal differently. Tweeden said she accepted his apology.
"Coming from the world of comedy, I've told and written alot of jokes that I once thought were funny but later came torealise were just plain offensive," Franken wrote.
"I respect women. I don't respect men who don't," headded. "And the fact that my own actions have given people agood reason to doubt that makes me feel ashamed."Of the photo, Franken said: "I look at it now, and I feeldisgusted with myself. It isn't funny. It's completelyinappropriate. It's obvious how Leeann would feel violated bythat picture."President Donald Trump ridiculed Franken in tweets lastnight: "The Al Frankenstien picture is really bad, speaks athousand words. Where do his hands go in pictures 2, 3, 4, 5 &6 while she sleeps? ..... And to think that just last week hewas lecturing anyone who would listen about sexual harassmentand respect for women. Lesley Stahl tape?"Trump, who misspelled the name Frankenstein, referred toa New York magazine story from 1995 in which Franken, while awriter for "Saturday Night Live," suggested a skit in which"60 Minutes" commentator Andy Rooney would muse about druggingcorrespondent Leslie Stahl and taking pictures of her.
Trump has been publicly silent about the allegationsagainst Moore, the Republican nominee in Alabama's specialSenate election. Through a spokeswoman, he called theallegations of sexual misconduct against the former judge"very troubling" but stopped short of calling on Moore to dropout.
The accusations against Franken come just days after theSenate unanimously adopted mandatory sexual harassmenttraining for members and staffs amid a flood of stories aboutharassment, sexual misconduct and gender hostility fromstaffers, aides and even female elected officials.
Senate Democrats spoke with one voice in describingFranken's actions as unacceptable and calling for an ethicsprobe.
Franken's fellow Minnesota Democrat, Amy Klobuchar, said,"This should not have happened to Leeann Tweeden. I stronglycondemn this behaviour, and the Senate Ethics Committee mustopen an investigation."Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri, who is facing atough re-election next year, said she was "shocked andconcerned." She said, "Comedy is no excuse for inappropriateconduct, and I believe there should be an ethicsinvestigation."Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and thetop Democrat, Chuck Schumer of New York, called for an ethicsinquiry. (AP)KIS.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.