Franken holds press conference to 'take responsibility' for sexual harassment accusations, refuses to resign

AP

• Sen. Al Franken said he is "trying to take responsibility by apologizing" for allegedly groping several women and forcibly kissing one.
• The Minnesota Democrat is refusing to resign his seat and said he cannot "speculate" as to whether other women will come forward with new allegations against him.

Sen. Al Franken held a short press conference on Monday afternoon to address accusations of sexual misconduct made against him by several women in recent weeks. 

The Minnesota Democrat said he was "tremendously sorry" for causing the women to feel disrespected and said he has "been trying to take responsibility by apologizing."

"I know that I've let a lot of people down," he said, adding that he will begin working to rebuild trust with the people of Minnesota as well as his staff and colleagues.

Asked whether he thinks he will face more allegations of inappropriate conduct, the senator said he could not "speculate" about whether other women will come forward.

"If you had asked me two weeks ago would any woman come forward with an allegation like this, I would have said no," Franken said. "And so I cannot speculate. This has been a shock and has been extremely humbling."

At least four women have accused Franken of misconduct, including three who say he groped their buttocks while posing for photos with them.

Franken said that he doesn't remember those instances, arguing that he takes "thousands" of photos with constituents.

One other woman, Los Angeles TV and radio host Leeann Tweeden, accused Franken, then a professional comedian, of forcibly kissing and groping her while the two were on a 2006 tour abroad performing for military service members.

Franken apologized to Tweeden after she made her allegations public 10 days ago and said that he remembered the incident differently.

Franken has refused to resign his post, but said he will "cooperate completely" with an investigation by the Senate Ethics Committee into his past behavior.

"I know that I am going to have to be much more conscious in these circumstances - much more careful, much more sensitive," Franken said on Monday. "It's going to take a long time for me to regain people's trust, but I hope that starting work today that I can start to do that."

Watch a clip of the briefing below: