In the wake of allegations of groping and inappropriate touching, Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn. told reporters on Monday that he wants to get back to work to regain people's trust while shooting down calls for his resignation from the Senate.
Franken apologized several times during his brief remarks, telling reporters, "I have let a lot of people down."
"To all of you, I just want to say again that I am sorry," Franken said. "There are no magic words that I can say to regain your trust. It will take time."
On Nov. 16, radio personalty Leeann Tweeden accused Franken of groping her during a USO tour to the Middle East in 2006. There was also a photo released of Franken grabbing Tweeden's breasts while she was apparently asleep.
The 2006 incident took place two years before Franken was first elected to the Senate.
On Monday, Franken said he recalled things differently than Tweeden, "But I have to respect that she had a different experience," he said.
Several other women have come forward claiming that Franken grabbed them from behind. Franken did not deny these allegations on Monday.
"I take a lot of pictures, meet 10s of thousands of people, those are instances I don’t remember," Franken said. "From those stories, it is clear that there are some women, and one is too many, that feel that I did something disrespectful, and for that, I am tremendously sorry."
