Nov. 16 Leeann Tweeden
The Los Angeles radio host tweeted "I've decided it's time to tell my story," linking to an article on her station's website in which she accused Franken of kissing her without her consent in December 2006 while they were part of a USO tour of the Middle East and Afghanistan. Tweeden included a photo of Franken, his hands hovering over her breasts as she slept. Franken issued an apology and said he recalled their encounter differently, but said there was no excuse for the photo. "I look at it now and I feel disgusted with myself. It isn't funny."
Nov. 20 Lindsay Menz
The Texas housewife became the second woman to accuse Franken of inappropriate behavior, telling CNN he grabbed her buttocks while they had their picture taken together at the Minnesota State Fair in 2010. Franken said he has thousands of photos taken at the fair each year and didn't remember the interaction with Menz.
Nov. 22 Two anonymous accusers
Huffington Post cited two unidentified women who said Franken grabbed their buttocks in separate incidents during his first run for U.S. Senate. The first, a 38-year-old book editor, said Franken grabbed her buttocks as they posed for a photo at a Women's Political Caucus event in Minneapolis in June 2007. The second said Franken did the same at a fall 2008 Democratic fundraiser at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis. She also said Franken offered to accompany her to the restroom. In a statement, Franken said, "It's difficult to respond to anonymous accusers, and I don't remember those campaign events." He added, "I can categorically say that I did not proposition anyone to join me in any bathroom."
Nov. 30 Stephanie Kemplin
The U.S. Army veteran told CNN that Franken threw an arm around her and cupped her breast as she posed with him after a USO show while she was deployed in Kuwait in December 2003. Franken's office released a statement that he takes thousands of photos, and "he has never intentionally engaged in this kind of conduct."
Dec. 6 Tina Dupuy and an anonymous accuser
Dupuy, a Manhattan-based writer, wrote for The Atlantic about her own experience with Franken, alleging that he squeezed her waist a couple times while they were posed for a picture in early 2009 during a President Barack Obama inauguration event in Washington, D.C. Separately, a former Democratic congressional aide told Politico that Franken tried to kiss her after a recording of his radio show in 2006. She said Franken told her: "It's my right as an entertainer." Franken called the anonymous allegation "categorically not true and the idea that I would claim this as my right as an entertainer is preposterous." But the latest allegations triggered a wave of demands from his fellow Democratic senators for Franken to resign.
Staff Reports
