Al Franken says he regrets resigning ... and other senators say they regret how they handled the situation, too
‘Oh, yeah. Absolutely.’ That’s how Al Franken responded when asked by the New Yorker’s Jane Mayer whether he regrets abruptly resigning from the Senate amid swirling allegations of sexual impropriety.
Seven current or former senators, including Patrick Leahy, Tammy Duckworth, Angus King, Jeff Merkley, Bill Nelson, Harry Reid and Tom Udall, said they regret how quickly they rushed to judgment and joined calls for his resignation.Mayer’s piece takes a deep dive into accusations from conservative broadcaster Leeann Tweeden, who alleged Franken grabbed the back of her head and forcibly kissed her during a rehearsal for a USO skit.
To build her case, Mayer interviewed eight others on the USO tour who said they had “no memory” of Tweeden being uncomfortable or complaining about Franken, even amid other raunchy skits the two performed together.Franken’s name immediately topped the trending list on Twitter TWTR, +2.20% , where there were a wide range of responses to the article:
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