The Minnesota Democrat said he is open to making the results of an ethics probe public.
Sen. Al Franken apologized again on Monday after multiple women accused the embattled Minnesota Democrat of groping them in recent years, adding that he is open to making the results of an ethics probe public.
Top Senate leaders and Franken himself have called for an investigation by the Senate Ethics Committee into his alleged behavior that prompted four women to come forward. Franken noted that he has not dealt with the ethics panel before, but he would be open to disclosing the results of any investigation.
“It’s been clear that there are some women — and one is too many — who feel that I have done something disrespectful and it’s hurt them and for that, I am tremendously sorry,” Franken told reporters outside his Senate office. “I know that I am going to have to be much more conscious when in these circumstances, much more careful, much more sensitive, and that this will not happen again going forward.”
Franken stressed again during his news conference that he recalls some of the encounters differently, such as a 2006 incident in which Leeann Tweeden said he kissed her without her consent. But he added: “I feel that you have to respect women’s experience. And so I apologized to her, and I meant it.”
The senator, now in his second term, said he is “embarrassed” and “ashamed.”
“I know that I let a lot of people down: the people of Minnesota, my colleagues, my staff, my supporters and everyone who has counted on me to be a champion for women,” he said. “So all of you, I just want to again say I’m sorry.”
