Franken To Make Announcement Thursday As Pressure To Resign Grows

File Photo by: Dennis Van Tine/STAR MAX/IPx 2017 6/1/17 Al Franken at The BookExpo2017 in New York City.
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After numerous Democratic senators, most of whom are women, called on Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) to resign over sexual misconduct allegations on Wednesday, his office said that the senator would make an announcement on Thursday.

Franken’s office did not specify the topic the senator will discuss and did not offer a specific time for the announcement.

A wave of Democratic female senators on Wednesday called on Franken to step aside, and a handful of male Democratic senators quickly joined the call. Within an hour of the first push from a senator for Franken to step down, more than 10 Democratic senators joined the chorus.

A new accuser stepped forward on Wednesday morning, telling Politico that Franken tried to forcibly kiss her in 2006 after a taping of his radio show. The former Democratic congressional aide joined several other women who have accused Franken of groping or forcibly kissing them.

Despite the numerous sexual misconduct allegations, Franken faced little public pressure in the Senate to resign until Wednesday. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has not weighed in on Franken since he called for an ethics committee investigation after the first accuser came forward more than two weeks ago.

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