Senator apologizes as sexual misconduct claims hit US politics

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The first claim of sexual harassment against a sitting US senator since the wave of allegations against powerful men in a range of industries drew an apology on Thursday.

Democratic Senator Al Franken issued an apology after radio anchor Leeann Tweeden related her experience of incidents while performing with the former comedian for US troops in 2006.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump called allegations against Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore “troubling” and said the 70-year-old should stand down if the claims were true.

Al Franken accused of groping

Franken apologized after Tweeden accused him of touching her breasts while she slept and forcing a kiss on her in 2006.

The Senate's Democratic and Republican leaders called on the Ethics Committee to review the allegations and Franken said he would cooperate.

Leeann Tweeden (R) poses with a soldier while visiting US troops in Baghdad, Iraq, June 19, 2003. /Reuters Photo

Tweeden said Franken wrote a skit for the pair to perform for US troops in the Middle East and said he insisted upon rehearsing a kiss, which she at first resisted.

"We did the line leading up to the kiss and then he came at me, put his hand on the back of my head, mashed his lips against mine and aggressively stuck his tongue in my mouth," she wrote, adding that she pushed Franken away but felt disgusted and violated.

Tweeden also said Franken groped her while she slept during their flight home on a military plane. "I felt violated all over again. Embarrassed. Belittled. Humiliated," Tweeden wrote. "How dare anyone grab my breasts like this and think it’s funny?"

Leeann Tweeden (C) posted this picture of her with Al Franken (L) as part of a first-hand account of her experiences working with him in 2006. ‍/KABC Photo

She posted a photo taken at the time of Franken mugging for the camera with his hands above her breasts as she sat in the military aircraft wearing a flak jacket with eyes closed.

Franken’s initial apology – in which he said he remembered the event differently and wrongly thought the photo was funny – was widely criticized, and he followed up with a longer statement two hours later.

Roy Moore drops behind in Alabama

The latest polling suggests Alabama voters are turning against Roy Moore, a Republican US Senate candidate who has been accused of having sexual contact with teenage girls decades ago.

A Fox News poll published late on Thursday indicated that Moore had dropped eight points behind Democratic rival Doug Jones in the wake of the allegations, which Moore has denied.

Roy Moore denies allegations of sexual contact with teenage girls. /Reuters Photo

The White House said on Thursday that President Trump finds the sexual misconduct allegations against Moore "troubling" and thinks he should leave the race if they are true.

Republican leaders in Washington have said they believe the women accusing the former Alabama Supreme Court chief justice and have demanded he withdraw from the race before the December 12 vote.

Sexual harassment in US politics

Lawmakers this week shared stories of women and men being propositioned and groped in the halls of the US Capitol as Congress reviewed sexual harassment policies.

Franken's Democratic Senate colleagues Clare McCaskill and Kirsten Gillibrand both expressed deep concern about the allegations against the former comedian, meanwhile.

/Twitter Screenshot

"The behavior described is completely unacceptable. Comedy is no excuse for inappropriate conduct, and I believe there should be an ethics investigation," McCaskill wrote on Twitter.

Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, asked about Alabama Senate candidate Moore, said reporters should be asking her instead about Franken and called up the photograph on her phone.

Tweeden said she was inspired to tell her story by women members of Congress who spoke up against harassment this week. "I’m telling my story because there may be others," she said.

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Source(s): Reuters