Franken accusers say resignation speech was hypocritical

Several women who accused Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) of sexual misconduct say they were not satisfied by his resignation speech Thursday, with some calling it disappointing and “hypocritical.”

Los Angeles morning radio host Leeann Tweeden, who first accused Franken of groping her and shared a picture of the 2006 USO tour incident on Twitter, suggested that Franken was defensive in his speech made from the Senate floor early Thursday.

“I’m not celebrating his resignation. It’s a lose-lose situation,” Tweeden told CNN. “I’m not celebrating his resignation, but we also can’t tolerate hypocrisy. We can’t have our leaders saying one thing and doing another.”

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In his defiant resignation speech, Franken called himself a “champion of women” and said that some of the allegations against him were “simply not true.” 

Tweeden pointed to the seven other women who have come forward with stories of Franken’s misconduct, saying that it’s “between those women and God, who’s lying. He’s the one stepping down.”

While Franken had issued a statement of apology after Tweeden first posted the picture that prompted other women to come forward, he did not apologize in his Thursday speech and pointed to the “irony” of his resignation despite the similar allegations against President Trump and GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore. 

Army veteran Stephanie Kemplin, who said Franken had groped her at a 2003 USO tour photo shoot, told CNN that the senator’s remarks on Thursday were “very hurtful.” 

“He’s taking no ownership, and I just feel that he’s calling all of us liars,” she said. 

Another accuser, Lindsay Menz, also said she was “a little disappointed” by Franken’s statements and that he would “continue to dismiss and put the allegations down.” 

The eight women who accused Franken triggered an avalanche of calls to step down by fellow Democratic senators on Wednesday, after which Franken’s office announced his plans to give a Thursday resignation address.