I have to wonder if ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, CNN et al
Mainstream share this news about Senator Al Franken sexually groping former Fox
Sports and Playboy celeb poser Leann Tweeden?
********************
Al Franken accused of kissing, groping LA TV host without
consent
November 16, 2017
A California TV host and
sports radio broadcaster on Thursday accused Democratic Sen. Al Franken of
kissing and groping her without her consent in 2006.
Leeann Tweeden posted a blog detailing
the alleged incident and also tweeted a picture of what seems to be a grinning
Franken standing over her as she sleeps, pretending to grab her breasts.
I’ve decided it’s time to tell my story. #MeToohttps://t.co/TqTgfvzkZg— Leeann Tweeden (@LeeannTweeden) November 16, 2017
Franken said he doesn't
remember the kissing incident but apologized for posing for the picture. He
said he intended it to be funny -- but it wasn't.
“I certainly don’t remember
the rehearsal for the skit in the same way, but I send my sincerest apologies
to Leeann," Franken said in an initial statement. “As to the photo, it was
clearly intended to be funny but wasn’t. I shouldn’t have done it.”
Tweeden
says she was disgusted to learn she was groped as she slept (Reuters)
Franken later issued a
detailed statement saying
there’s “no excuse” and he feels “ashamed,” while also offering to cooperate in
an ethics investigation into the matter.
“I respect women. I don't
respect men who don't. And the fact that my own actions have given people a
good reason to doubt that makes me feel ashamed,” Franken said. “... I don't
know what was in my head when I took that picture, and it doesn't matter.
There's no excuse.”
He added, “I am asking that
an ethics investigation be undertaken, and I will gladly cooperate.”
Tweeden said the abuse took
place during a USO Tour in Afghanistan.
The
radio host came forward in a shocking open letter on blog (Reuters)
Franken, a former writer for "Saturday Night Live," wrote a sketch for the tour in which his character kisses hers on stage. He was an Air America radio host at the time of the incident. He was elected ot the U.S. Senate in 2008.
Tweeden said Franken
repeatedly pressured her to practice the kiss backstage and at one point
forcibly kissed her.
“I immediately pushed him
away with both of my hands against his chest and told him if he ever did that
to me again I wouldn’t be so nice about it the next time,” she wrote. “I walked
away. All I could think about was getting to a bathroom as fast as possible to
rinse the taste of him out of my mouth.”
Tweeden said she felt
“disgusted and violated” – and that the abuse didn’t stop there.
A photographer, who was with
them on their C-17 cargo plane ride back home, snapped a picture of what looks
to be a sleeping Tweeden, still wearing her flak vest and Kevlar helmet, and a
grinning Franken appearing to grab her breasts.
“I couldn’t believe it,” she
wrote. “He groped me, without my consent, while I was asleep. I felt violated
all over again. Embarrassed. Belittled. Humiliated. How dare anyone grab my
breasts like this and think it’s funny?”
Tweeden said she thinks
Franken asked someone to take the photo “knowing I would see it later, and be
ashamed.”
The accusations against
Franken come on the heels of an avalanch of allegations out of Capitol Hill on
sexual harassment and gender hostility. Multiple incidents out of D.C. and
other state houses have shed light on the dificulties [sic] victims facewhen
trying to report their accusers.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell said the Ethics Committee should review the matter.
"I hope the Democratic
Leader will join me on this," McConnell wrote in a statement.
"Regardless of party, harassment and assault are completely unacceptable -
in the workplace or anywhere else."
About 1,500 former Capitol
Hill aides have signed an open letter to House and Senate leaders demanding
that Congress put in place mandatory harassment training. They’re also calling
to revamp the Office of Compliance, a small office that deals with these
complaints and that few knew even existed.
Fox News' Brooke Singman
contributed to this report.
_________________
Blog Editor: I read this Fox post with the proviso posted one hour
ago. Hence, if you check the link, there is a good chance of future editing.
No comments:
Post a Comment