Women’s accusations mar Franken’s rising trajectory

WASHINGTON — “Many of you have jobs, many of you have families,” Sen. Al Franken told Democratic leaders gathered on the eve of a hotly contested governor’s election in Virginia. After an expectant pause, he leaned into the microphone and added, “Ignore them.”

Franken was jokingly beseeching activists to get out the vote the next day, in what ended up as a surprisingly decisive victory for Democratic candidate Ralph Northam. But the moment, barely two weeks ago, also underscored how high the onetime “Saturday Night Live” comic had risen in his party’s firmament.

Months of savaging some of President Trump’s appointees had turned the Harvardeducated Franken into a weapon of choice for Democrats eager to attack the administration and energize party voters. He brandished comedy as a bludgeon.

Now, Franken’s rising trajectory has been interrupted by allegations he had physical contact with four women without their permission.

Los Angeles radio anchor Leeann Tweeden said last week that Franken had put his tongue in her mouth during a 2006 USO tour, before he became senator. She also posted a photo of him with his hands above her chest as she slept wearing a flak vest aboard a military plane. Franken, 66, has apologized.

Another woman, Lindsay Menz, said Monday he’d squeezed her buttocks in 2010 while posing for a photo at the Minnesota State Fair.

In a story published Wednesday by the Huffington Post, two more women alleged that Franken touched their buttocks during campaign events in 2007 and 2008.

Franken canceled a sold-out appearance in Atlanta to promote his book, “Al Franken, Giant of the Senate.” His aides have said he’s “spending time with his family and doing a lot of reflecting.”