Sen. Franken Set To Make Announcement Tomorrow As Democrats Call For Resignation

Sen. Al Franken lost the support of his Democratic colleagues today and faced new pressures to resign over what a fellow senator said was a “clear pattern” of abuse. More than a half dozen female Democratic senators and some men have called on him to resign.

Franken’s support in the Senate crumbled after another woman emerged saying he forcibly tried to kiss her in 2006, bringing the total number to seven women who have accused him behaving sexually inappropriate.

The woman, who was not identified, told Politico that Franken pursued her after her boss had left and she was collecting her belongings. She said she ducked to avoid his lips, and that Franken told her: “It’s my right as an entertainer.”

Franken, in a statement, said the idea he would claim such conduct as a right as an entertainer was “preposterous.”

The allegations against Franken began in mid-November when Los Angeles radio anchor Leeann Tweeden accused him of forcibly kissing her during a 2006 USO tour.

Several other allegations have followed, including a woman who says that Franken put his hand on her buttocks during a picture pose at the Minnesota State Fair in 2010. Two women, who asked to remain anonymous, have told the Huffington Post that Franken squeezed their buttocks at political events during his first campaign for the Senate in 2008. A fourth woman, an Army veteran, alleged Franken cupped her breast during a photo op on a USO tour in 2003.

Franken has apologized for his behavior but he has disputed some of the allegations.

The Minnesota Democrat scheduled an announcement for tomorrow. While his office didn’t specify the topic, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said he expected Franken to resign at that time.