Minnesota Democrat announces departure after colleagues call for him to step down. Al Franken says he will resign from the U.S. Senate amid a rising number of sexual misconduct allegations against him. The former comedian, writer and Saturday Night Live star made his statement on the Senate floor Thursday morning.
"Today, I am announcing that in the coming weeks, I will be resigning as a member of the United States Senate," Franken said.
"I know in my heart that nothing I have done as a senator — nothing — has brought dishonour on this institution," he declared.
Several of the Minnesota Democrat's Senate colleagues had recommended on Wednesday that it was time for him to quit after two new claims of inappropriate behaviour surfaced.
One woman said Franken forcibly tried to kiss her in 2006 after a taping of his radio show. Another woman said he inappropriately squeezed "a handful of flesh" on her waist while posing for a photo with her early in 2009. That brought the number of women alleging misconduct by Franken to at least eight.
Franken did not admit any new wrongdoing in his statement. "Some of the allegations against me are simply not true," Franken said. "Others I remember quite differently."
His potential resignation had set off a rush to find a replacement.
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