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Senator Al Franken, D-Minn., Broke eight days of media silence and addressed accusations of badual harbadment in a series of interviews on Sunday.
"I am ashamed and embarrbaded, I have disappointed many people and I hope to compensate them and gradually regain their confidence," Franken told the Minnesota Star Tribune. He also said he would go back to work on Monday.
Franken spoke with the Star Tribune of Minnesota Public Radio, or MPR, and CBS Minnesota about the allegations he will face on Sunday. The television interview will be announced later in the day.
The Minnesota senator for two terms had not spoken in person to the press for more than a week, eight days after the controversy was brought on by Leeann Tweeden, a Los Angeles radio news anchor. She stated that during a USO tour in 2006, Franken kissed her forcefully while rehearsing a play together and later tempted her on a plane. An alarming photograph appeared to support his accusation.
Franken said he had a different memory of the rehearsed kiss. She told MPR that she apologized to Tweeden, and she "graciously accepted my apology."
But since that initial controversy, three more women have said that Franken had grabbed his bad in public places. Two shared the information with the Huffington Post anonymously.
Related: Representative John Conyers leaves committee leadership position amid harbadment allegations
Lindsay Menz, 33, told CNN that Franken grabbed her from behind when they posed for a photo in 2010. Franken was a senator at that time. One of the women who spoke with the Huffington Post also said that Franken took her bad while taking a picture.
NBC News has not verified those reports.
"I do not remember these pictures, I do not have them," Franken told the Star Tribune, adding that he had posed for innumerable photos. "This is not something I would intentionally do."
Franken said he was surprised by the allegations and added that he had used last week to think "about how that could happen".
He told MPR that he would never intentionally disrespect or touch a woman properly, but that he believed it was important to trust a woman to share his own experience. [19659002] "My intention is not important," he told the radio station. "The important thing is that we have to listen to women and respect what they say. I have been listening and reflecting, and I hope to make a positive contribution to this conversation. It's a very important conversation. "
Franken said later in the interview that he had no intention of quitting.
Franken told the Star Tribune that he did not think any additional women would show up, but said he could be wrong.
Related: Al Franken accused of forcibly kissing, groping Leeann Tweeden
"If you had asked me two weeks ago, would any woman who had treated her say it? with disrespect? & # 39; I would have said no, "he said." So this has just taken me by surprise … I certainly hope not. "
The senator added to MPR that he did not remember any similar situation that arose at some point in his life.
"I can not remember any woman approaching me and saying, 'You made me feel uncomfortable,'" he said.
Franken has issued multiple apologies for the allegations through statements by The interviews with local Minnesotan media were the first time he spoke publicly about the controversy.
"I know I have a lot of work to do to regain the trust of the people I disappointed, the people of Minnesota, friends and colleagues, all of those who count on me to be a women's champion. "Franken said.
He told MPR that he had spent the Thanksgiving holiday reflecting on the situation, which he said was part of" a moment important national ", in the his daughter's house with his wife and grandchildren. He said his family remains overwhelmingly favorable to him.
"Franni is a stone," he said about his wife, Franni Bryson, who said he was very angry about the allegations. "They love me unconditionally, one of the things I was very grateful for on Thanksgiving was my family, my daughter and son-in-law have two beautiful grandchildren, we have a lot to be thankful for."
However, he hopes to return to Washington D.C. on Monday to fulfill his duties as a senator.
"I really want to go back to work tomorrow," Franken told the Star Tribune.
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