Common
11-23-2017, 03:49 AM
One woman told HuffPost that Franken had grabbed her backside at an event honoring women.Freefall: Franken Approval Plummets in Minnesota
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/guybenson/2017/11/22/franken-poll-n2413035
Two more women have told HuffPost that Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) touched their butts in separate incidents. These are the third and fourth such allegations against Franken (https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/al-franken-leeann-tweeden-groping_us_5a0dad66e4b0c0b2f2f8445a) in the past week. Leeann Tweeden, a radio host, wrote last week (http://www.kabc.com/2017/11/16/leeann-tweeden-on-senator-al-franken/) that Franken had kissed and groped her without her consent during a 2006 USO tour. On Monday, Lindsay Menz accused (https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/woman-says-al-franken-groped-her-in-2010_us_5a12e220e4b0e97dffeec570?utm_hp_ref=al-franken) Franken of groping her at the Minnesota State Fair in 2010.
The two additional women, who said they were not familiar with each others’ stories, both spoke on condition of anonymity. But their stories, which describe events during Franken’s first campaign for the Senate, are remarkably similar — and both women have been telling them privately for years.
In a statement to HuffPost, Franken said, “It’s difficult to respond to anonymous accusers, and I don’t remember those campaign events.”
The first woman, who spoke to HuffPost on condition of anonymity because she’s worried she’ll be harassed online for making the allegation, said Franken groped her when they posed for a photo after a June 25, 2007, event hosted by the Minnesota Women’s Political Caucus (https://mnvalleynow.wordpress.com/calendar/june-2007-calendar/) in Minneapolis.
“My story is eerily similar to Lindsay Menz’s story (https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/woman-says-al-franken-groped-her-in-2010_us_5a12e220e4b0e97dffeec570?utm_hp_ref=al-franken),” the first woman said. “He grabbed my buttocks during a photo op.”
The second woman told HuffPost that Franken cupped her butt with his hand at a 2008 Democratic fundraiser in Minneapolis, then suggested the two visit the bathroom together. She spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear that the allegation could affect her position at work.
“My immediate reaction was disgust,” the second woman said. “But my secondary reaction was disappointment. I was excited to be there and to meet him. And so to have that happen really deflated me. It felt like: ‘Is this really the person who is going to be in a position of power to represent our community?’”
‘We Stood Next To Each Other ... And Down His Hand Went’
The first woman, a 38-year-old book editor who was living in Minneapolis at the time, told HuffPost that she had just finished performing with a feminist choir at the Women’s Political Caucus event, which Franken and his wife, Franni Bryson, attended. After the ceremony, she and other members of the choir approached him for photos.
“My mother loves Al Franken. She listened to Air America [on which Franken had a radio show] every day,” the first woman said. ”I saw him and asked if we could take a photo together for my mother, and we stood next to each other ... and down his hand went.”
HuffPost spoke to two sources close to the first woman who corroborated her account.
One fellow choir member, Sarah, remembers not only being there for the groping incident but hearing another choir member say that Franken wouldn’t stop looking at her chest.
Ten years ago, it was easier to shrug off predatory behavior as “boys being boys,” Sarah said, especially when that predatory behavior came from a political ally.
“At the time ... people weren’t as willing to speak against people they felt like were on their side,” Sarah said. “It’s really disappointing. And it’s crappy. Ten years ago we were also at an age where there was still a feeling of powerlessness, or that boys will be boys.”
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/al-franken-two-more-women-groping_us_5a15a455e4b09650540ec295
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/guybenson/2017/11/22/franken-poll-n2413035
Two more women have told HuffPost that Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) touched their butts in separate incidents. These are the third and fourth such allegations against Franken (https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/al-franken-leeann-tweeden-groping_us_5a0dad66e4b0c0b2f2f8445a) in the past week. Leeann Tweeden, a radio host, wrote last week (http://www.kabc.com/2017/11/16/leeann-tweeden-on-senator-al-franken/) that Franken had kissed and groped her without her consent during a 2006 USO tour. On Monday, Lindsay Menz accused (https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/woman-says-al-franken-groped-her-in-2010_us_5a12e220e4b0e97dffeec570?utm_hp_ref=al-franken) Franken of groping her at the Minnesota State Fair in 2010.
The two additional women, who said they were not familiar with each others’ stories, both spoke on condition of anonymity. But their stories, which describe events during Franken’s first campaign for the Senate, are remarkably similar — and both women have been telling them privately for years.
In a statement to HuffPost, Franken said, “It’s difficult to respond to anonymous accusers, and I don’t remember those campaign events.”
The first woman, who spoke to HuffPost on condition of anonymity because she’s worried she’ll be harassed online for making the allegation, said Franken groped her when they posed for a photo after a June 25, 2007, event hosted by the Minnesota Women’s Political Caucus (https://mnvalleynow.wordpress.com/calendar/june-2007-calendar/) in Minneapolis.
“My story is eerily similar to Lindsay Menz’s story (https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/woman-says-al-franken-groped-her-in-2010_us_5a12e220e4b0e97dffeec570?utm_hp_ref=al-franken),” the first woman said. “He grabbed my buttocks during a photo op.”
The second woman told HuffPost that Franken cupped her butt with his hand at a 2008 Democratic fundraiser in Minneapolis, then suggested the two visit the bathroom together. She spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear that the allegation could affect her position at work.
“My immediate reaction was disgust,” the second woman said. “But my secondary reaction was disappointment. I was excited to be there and to meet him. And so to have that happen really deflated me. It felt like: ‘Is this really the person who is going to be in a position of power to represent our community?’”
‘We Stood Next To Each Other ... And Down His Hand Went’
The first woman, a 38-year-old book editor who was living in Minneapolis at the time, told HuffPost that she had just finished performing with a feminist choir at the Women’s Political Caucus event, which Franken and his wife, Franni Bryson, attended. After the ceremony, she and other members of the choir approached him for photos.
“My mother loves Al Franken. She listened to Air America [on which Franken had a radio show] every day,” the first woman said. ”I saw him and asked if we could take a photo together for my mother, and we stood next to each other ... and down his hand went.”
HuffPost spoke to two sources close to the first woman who corroborated her account.
One fellow choir member, Sarah, remembers not only being there for the groping incident but hearing another choir member say that Franken wouldn’t stop looking at her chest.
Ten years ago, it was easier to shrug off predatory behavior as “boys being boys,” Sarah said, especially when that predatory behavior came from a political ally.
“At the time ... people weren’t as willing to speak against people they felt like were on their side,” Sarah said. “It’s really disappointing. And it’s crappy. Ten years ago we were also at an age where there was still a feeling of powerlessness, or that boys will be boys.”
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/al-franken-two-more-women-groping_us_5a15a455e4b09650540ec295