Sen. Al Franken apparently sees himself as an over-enthusiastic hugger, not the "serial groper" one woman describes him as. In a statement issued Thursday, the day after two more women accused him of touching them inappropriately during photo-ops, the Democrat apologized for making "some women feel badly" and vowed to regain the trust of Minnesotans, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. "I've met tens of thousands of people and taken thousands of photographs, often in crowded and chaotic situations," he said. "I'm a warm person; I hug people. I've learned from recent stories that in some of those encounters, I crossed a line for some women—and I know that any number is too many."
"Some women have found my greetings or embraces for a hug or photo inappropriate, and I respect their feelings about that," Franken said, adding that he has realized he needs to be "much more careful and sensitive" in those situations. "I feel terribly that I’ve made some women feel badly and for that I am so sorry, and I want to make sure that never happens again." Franken faces a Senate Ethics Committee investigation over allegations from radio host Leanne Tweeden and three other women. In a KTSP poll carried out after a second woman came forward, just 22% of Minnesotans said he should definitely stay in office. Some 33% thought he should resign, while 36% said he should wait for the investigation results and the remainder were unsure what he should do. (More Al Franken stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
