Sen. Al Franken's accusers and their allegations against him

Eight women have made claims of inappropriate behavior, including groping.

ByABC News
December 6, 2017, 3:51 PM

— -- Eight women have spoken out publicly detailing different alleged incidents when Sen. Al Franken groped or tried to kiss them.

Franken, D-Minn., has issued multiple statements apologizing in some instances and saying that he does not remember other alleged incidents.

Only one of the eight accusers, whose allegations are detailed below, points to an alleged incident while he was serving as a senator.

As of early Wednesday afternoon, more than a dozen senators -- including at least eight female senators -- have called for him to resign, and his office said that he will make an announcement tomorrow.

Here is a rundown of the different accusations that have been made against him and his responses to each.

1. Leeann Tweeden

PHOTO: Leeann Tweeden appears on "The View," Nov. 17, 2017.
Leeann Tweeden appears on "The View," Nov. 17, 2017.

The first woman to come forward with allegations of impropriety against Franken was Tweeden, a female radio host. She claimed Franken, now Minnesota's junior Democratic senator, groped her while she was sleeping aboard a military plane on her way home from a USO tour in 2006. The alleged incident was captured in a photograph. She also claimed he forcibly kissed her when they were practicing a performance together for troops overseas.

"I felt disgusting and violated," Tweeden wrote in a post on KABC's website on Nov. 16.

PHOTO: Leeann Tweeden posted this photo online that she says was taken while she was asleep on a flight back from a 2006 USO trip. She says it shows then-comedian Al Franken, who is now a U.S. Senator, groping her.
Leeann Tweeden posted this photo online that she says was taken while she was asleep on a flight back from a 2006 USO trip. She says it shows then-comedian Al Franken, who is now a U.S. Senator, groping her.

Franken apologized to Tweeden in a statement the same day as her post was published and "to everyone else who was part of that tour, to everyone who has worked for me, to everyone I represent, and to everyone who counts on me to be an ally and supporter and champion of women. There's more I want to say, but the first and most important thing -- and if it's the only thing you care to hear, that's fine -- is: I'm sorry."

During an appearance on ABC's "The View" the next day, Tweeden read a letter Franken sent to her that morning, apologizing and saying "there's no excuse" for his behavior in the photo.

2. Lindsay Menz

PHOTO: Lindsay Menz speaks to ABC News' Tom Llamas.
Lindsay Menz speaks to ABC News' Tom Llamas.

Menz accused Franken of groping her while posing for a photo together at the Minnesota State Fair in 2010.

“My husband steps away from us to take the photo. I stand next to Sen. Franken and he pulls me into him and then he moves his hand to my butt,” Menz, 33, told ABC News' chief national correspondent Tom Llamas. “I was shocked.”

Franken released a statement after reports multiple women recalled similar incidents as Menz, saying, “I’ve met tens of thousands of people and taken thousands of photographs, often in crowded and chaotic situations. 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 continued. “I’ve thought a lot in recent days about how that could happen, and recognize that I need to be much more careful and sensitive in these 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.”

3. Anonymous Accuser No. 1

The Huffington Post reported the claims of two women whose names were not disclosed.

The first woman's alleged incident reportedly took place on June 25, 2007, at an event in Minneapolis hosted by the Minnesota Women's Political Caucus. Franken was not a senator but would have been running for his senatorial bid at the time of the alleged incident.

"My story is eerily similar to Lindsay Menz’s story," the first woman told Huffington Post. "He grabbed my buttocks during a photo op."

Franken issued a statement to the site, saying, "It’s difficult to respond to anonymous accusers, and I don’t remember those campaign events."

PHOTO: Sen. Al Franken attends the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., July 19, 2017.
Sen. Al Franken attends the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., July 19, 2017.

This first accuser told the Huffington Post that she voted for him "after this happened" but wanted to tell her story, calling Franken "a serial groper."

4. Anonymous Accuser No. 2

The second accuser, who also remains anonymous, said that Franken cupped her butt during a Democratic fundraiser in Minneapolis in 2008.

The woman said that he suggested they visit the bathroom together, the Huffington Post reported.

Franken denied the second portion of her claims.

"I can categorically say that I did not proposition anyone to join me in any bathroom," he said in a statement to the site.

Franken has said that he does not remember the specific incidents pointed to in the three incidents which involve photo opportunities at public events.

"I'm someone who, you know, hugs people," Franken told Minnesota Public Radio. "I've learned from these stories that in some of these encounters I have crossed the line for some women."

5. Stephanie Kemplin

Kemplin told CNN that Franken groped her breast while posing for a photo when she was deployed in Kuwait in 2003 and Franken was there as part of a USO tour.

She is the second woman to accuse Franken, who previously starred on "Saturday Night Live," of sexual misconduct during his time entertaining troops abroad.

"When he put his arm around me, he groped my right breast. He kept his hand all the way over on my breast," Kemplin told CNN.

"I remember thinking, 'Is he going to move his hand? Was it an accident? Was he going to move his hand?' He never moved his hand," she said.

Kemplin, who is now 41 years old and lives in Ohio, was 27 years old at the time of the alleged incident and serving as a military police officer.

Franken's spokesperson responded to Kemplin's claims without specifically referring to her by name or citing the alleged incident in a statement given to both CNN and ABC News.

"As Sen. Franken made clear this week, he takes thousands of photos and has met tens of thousands of people and he has never intentionally engaged in this kind of conduct. He remains fully committed to cooperating with the ethics investigation," the spokesperson said in a statement.

6. Anonymous Accuser No. 3, an elected official

A woman told Jezebel about an alleged incident 2006 when Franken gave her a "wet, open-mouthed kiss" during an event.

The woman, who declined to be identified -- saying that she "want[s] my name associated with my own accomplishments ... not publicly linked to a man's bad behavior" -- was reportedly the chair of her town's selectboard at the time of the alleged incident, she told Jezebel.

The woman says Franken was touring with the radio show that he hosted at the time and taped a show in her community. She appeared on the program as a guest and she says the kiss allegedly happened on stage in the theater after it ended when she went to shake his hand.

"He took it [her hand] and leaned toward me with his mouth open. I turned my head away from him and he landed a wet, open-mouthed kiss awkwardly on my cheek," she said.

"I was stunned and incredulous. I felt demeaned. I felt put in my place," she added.

Franken and his office have not specifically responded to this accusation.

7. Anonymous Accuser No. 4, a former congressional aide

The most recent accuser said that her alleged incident also happened in 2006 after a taping of Franken's then-radio show.

The unidentified accuser, who is a former Democratic congressional aide, spoke to Politico and shared how she says she ducked to avoid Franken kissing her as she tried to leave the radio studio.

She said that as she left the room, he allegedly said "It's my right as an entertainer," according to Politico.

"He was between me and the door and he was coming at me to kiss me. It was very quick and I think my brain had to work really hard to be like ‘Wait, what is happening?’ But I knew whatever was happening was not right and I ducked," she told Politico.

Franken released a statement this morning in response to the Politico story.

"This allegation is categorically not true and the idea that I would claim this as my right as an entertainer is preposterous. I look forward to fully cooperating with the ongoing ethics committee investigation,” he said.

8. Tina Dupuy

An eighth accuser came forward on Dec. 6, writing in The Atlantic of an alleged groping incident.

Dupuy, who identifies as a Democrat, wrote that she met Franken at a party thrown by a media group during President Barack Obama's inauguration. At the time, Franken's senatorial race would have been in the midst of a recount. His term officially began in July 2009.

Dupuy writes that she posed for a photo with Franken because her foster mom is a fan of his.

"We posed for the shot. He immediately put his hand on my waist, grabbing a handful of flesh. I froze. Then he squeezed. At least twice," Dupuy wrote.

ABC News has reached out to Franken's office for comment and will update when we hear back.

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