WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on Sen. Al Franken and sexual misconduct allegations (all times local):
6 p.m.
A tweet sent from Sen. Al Franken’s verified account says he is still talking with his family and has not made a final decision on whether he’ll resign.
The tweet was sent Wednesday after Minnesota Public Radio News reported that Franken will resign. The report cited an unnamed Democratic official who spoke to Franken.
In response, a tweet from Franken’s account says the story is “not accurate” and “No final decision has been made.”
Franken lost support in the Senate on Wednesday after a seventh woman came forward accusing him of sexual impropriety. He denied the allegation, but more than a dozen Senate Democrats, led by female lawmakers, called on him to step aside.
Franken’s office says he’ll make an announcement Thursday, but has offered no more details.
___
5:06 p.m.
The top Senate Democrat says Sen. Al Franken should resign as allegations of sexual misconduct against the Minnesota lawmaker multiply.
In a brief statement on Wednesday, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said: “I consider Senator Franken a dear friend and greatly respect his accomplishments, but he has a higher obligation to his constituents and the Senate, and he should step down immediately.”
The statement came after a majority of Senate Democrats, led by female members, called for Franken to quit as a fresh accusation emerged about the senator.
Franken plans to make an announcement on Thursday.
____
1:50 p.m.
A top Senate Democrat says he expects Sen. Al Franken to resign Thursday over allegations of sexual misconduct. Another woman has come forward with accusations against the Minnesota Democrat of sexual misconduct.
In a tweet on Wednesday, Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon said: “I expect that Senator Franken will announce his resignation tomorrow.” Wyden tweeted that “It is the right thing to do given this series of serious allegations.”
More than a dozen Senate Democrats, led by female lawmakers, have called on Franken to step aside. The nearly simultaneous clamor for the two-term senator to quit comes a day after Michigan Rep. John Conyers, another Democrat, announced his resignation.
Franken’s office said in a brief statement that he will have an announcement on Thursday, details to come.
__
12:38 p.m.
Facing growing demands for him to resign, Minnesota Sen. Al Franken will make an announcement on Thursday.
That’s the word from the Democrat’s office on Wednesday.
Franken’s support among his fellow Democrats is collapsing as a host of female Democratic senators called upon him to quit.
Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Patty Murray, D-Wash., Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., all called on Franken to step down.
The calls came as another woman accused Franken of sexual misconduct in an account to Politico.
Franken vehemently denied a new sexual misconduct accusation that came from a former Democratic congressional aide that he tried to forcibly kiss her after a taping of his radio show in 2006.
___
11:44 a.m.
Female senators are calling on fellow Democratic Sen. Al Franken to resign.
In Facebook posts and Tweets, the women said the two-term senator should step aside after a fresh allegation that he forcibly tried to kiss a woman in 2006.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand wrote on Facebook that while Franken is entitled to have the Ethics Committee conclude its review, “I believe it would be better for our country if he sent a clear message that any kind of mistreatment of women in our society isn’t acceptable by stepping aside to let someone else serve.”
Sens. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Patty Murray of Washington state and Claire McCaskill of Missouri joined Gillibrand in pressing for Franken to quit.
The senator is facing other allegations that he groped women.
____
9:43 a.m.
Sen. Al Franken is denying an accusation by a former Democratic congressional aide that he tried to forcibly kiss her after a taping of his radio show in 2006.
The Minnesota Democrat says in a statement that the allegation — reported by Politico — is “categorically not true.”
The woman, who’s not identified by name, says Franken pursued her after her boss had left and she was collecting her belongings.
She says she ducked to avoid his lips. And she says Franken told her: “It’s my right as an entertainer.”
Franken says in his statement that the idea he’d claim such behavior as a right as an entertainer is “preposterous.”
The senator is facing a Senate Ethics Committee investigation into previous claims by other women that he groped them.