Franken Accuser 'Disappointed' By Resignation Speech
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Sen. Al Franken announced Thursday morning that he intends to step down as Senator in the next few weeks, though his announcement isn't sitting well with some who listened.
Lindsay Menz, one of the women who accused Franken of inappropriate conduct, told CNN that he grabbed her buttocks at the Minnesota State Fair in 2010.
Menz responded to Franken's resignation speech by saying that she was disappointed by some of the comments that he made.
"I guess I'm a little disappointed by his statement. Just that he would continue to dismiss and put the allegations down," she said.
In his speech, Franken took time to comment that he felt "there is some irony that I am leaving while a man who has bragged on tape that his history of sexual assault sits in the Oval Office and a man who has repeatedly preyed on young girls campaigns for the Senate with the full support of his party."
He continued:
"Over the last few weeks a number of women have come forward to talk about how they felt my actions affected them. I was shocked, I was upset. But in responding to their claims, I also wanted to be respectful of that broader conversation, because all women deserve to be heard and their experiences taken seriously. I think that was the right thing to do. I also think it gave some people the false impression that I was admitting to doing things that in fact I hadn't done. Some of the allegations against me are simply not true, others I remember very differently."
Menz told CNN she wondered if Franken was referring to her when denying the allegations.
"I just feel bad that this is our culture. I feel bad that we've allowed men to behave this way," she said, but added that she also feels bad that he is resigning. "I feel sad that he has to leave a job he's passionate about."