Washington, Dec 7 (AP) Minnesota Sen Al Franken announcedtoday he will resign from Congress in the coming weeksfollowing a wave of sexual misconduct allegations and thecollapse of support from his Democratic colleagues, a swiftpolitical fall for a once-rising Democratic star.
"I may be resigning my seat, but I am not giving up myvoice," Franken said in the otherwise-hushed Senate chamber.
Franken quit just a day after new allegations brought thenumber of women alleging misconduct by him to at least eight.
Yesterday, one woman said he forcibly tried to kiss herin 2006, an accusation he vehemently denied. Hours later,another woman said Franken inappropriately squeezed "a handfulof flesh" on her waist while posing for a photo with her in2009.
"I know in my heart that nothing I have done as asenator, nothing has brought dishonor on this institution,"Franken declared today.
Franken is the latest to fall in the national wave ofsexual harassment allegations that have brought down powerfulmen in Hollywood, the media and state capitals across thenation. His announcement followed Tuesday's resignation ofMichigan Democratic Rep John Conyers, the longest-servingmember of the House.
Franken, the former comedian who made his name on"Saturday Night Live," had originally sought to weather theallegations, disputing many of the specifics but apologizingto his accusers publicly.
He had promised he would cooperate with an ethicsinvestigation and work to regain the trust of Minnesotans.
"Some of the allegations against me are simply not true,"Franken said Thursday.
"Others I remember quite differently." Still, he said hecould not both cooperate with an investigation and fully carryout his duties to his constituents.
Franken, 66, had gained respect as a serious lawmaker inrecent years and had even been mentioned in talk about the2020 presidential race. (AP)NSA.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.