Woman accuses Sen. Al Franken of unwanted kissing, groping

(RNN) - A radio news anchor accused Sen. Al Franken, D-MN, of kissing and groping her without her consent.

Leeann Tweeden, who works for Los Angeles radio station KABC said the incident happened in December 2006 during a USO tour.

She said Franken, in his previous life as a comedian, wrote a skit that featured a moment when his character kisses her, and he wanted to rehearse the kiss, which she didn't want to do. But he insisted.

"I said ‘OK’ so he would stop badgering me. 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," Tweeden said.

During the actual performance, she turned her head to avoid his kiss. "Franken repaid me with petty insults, including drawing devil horns on at least one of the headshots I was autographing for the troops," Tweeden said.

Also, someone took a photo of Franken groping her while she slept, which she didn't see until after the conclusion of the USO tour.

Because they were in the middle of a war zone, she didn't tell anyone about the incident.

Tweeden said the account of California Congresswoman Jackie Speier, who shared being assaulted as a congressional aid, inspired her to call out Franken.

"I had locked up those memories of helplessness and violation for a long time, but they all came rushing back to me and my hands clinched into fists like it was yesterday," Tweeden said.

Franken apologized for the incident, saying "I certainly don’t remember the rehearsal for the skit in the same way, but I send my sincerest apologies to Leeann. As to the photo, it was clearly intended to be funny but wasn't. I shouldn't have done it."

Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, has called for an investigation into the matter, Politico reported.

"As with all credible allegations of sexual harassment or assault, I believe the Ethics Committee should review the matter. I hope the Democratic Leader will join me on this. Regardless of party, harassment and assault are completely unacceptable - in the workplace or anywhere else," he said.

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