Former Sen. Al Franken, who resigned in late 2017 after multiple women accused him of unwanted touching or kissing, received a measure of redemption Monday with the release of a lengthy and much talked about article in the New Yorker magazine that questions the severity and circumstances of the allegations.
Seven current and former senators told reporter Jane Mayer that they regret calling for Franken's resignation, among them former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, both Democrats.
Franken, in his first interview since leaving the Senate, said he regrets resigning: "Oh, yeah. Absolutely."
Franken's comments immediately revived speculation about his re-entry into politics. Franken's publicists did not respond to requests for comment Monday, and he has declined repeated interview requests with the Star Tribune for several months, as he divides his time between Washington and Minneapolis.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., appearing at a Washington Post candidate forum Monday, said she has received no indication that Franken is mulling another run for public office. "That's going to be his decision," she said, "but I think he's made it pretty clear to me that that's not what he plans right now."
The bulk of the New Yorker article takes up the accusation made by Leeann Tweeden, now a conservative media figure, who made the first allegation that led to Franken's downfall. In a photo that eventually doomed Franken, he can be seen reaching for her breasts while she is asleep while wearing a flak jacket aboard a military plane on the way home from a USO tour to entertain soldiers.
Tweeden also alleged that Franken wrote a skit with her in mind in which she was forced to kiss him. She also alleged that he gave her an ugly, unwanted open-mouth kiss during a "rehearsal."
But several actresses recall to the New Yorker that they performed the same skit with Franken in prior years — and without incident — calling into question Tweeden's claim that Franken wrote it for her alone.