AND ANOTHER ONE: Elected Official Claims Al Franken Tried to Give Her ‘Wet, Open-Mouthed Kiss’

Jezebel has reported that a sixth allegation of sexual misconduct has been levied at Minnesota Sen. Al Franken, coming mere hours after CNN reported on a fifth.

The accuser is a former New England elected official, though she remains anonymous. The woman stated that Franken attempted to give her a “wet, open-mouthed kiss” onstage at an event in 2006. The incident, which is alleged to have happened just before Franken ran for Senate, left the woman “stunned and incredulous.”

“I want my name associated with my own accomplishments,” she said, addressing her decision to remain anonymous, “and not publicly linked to a man’s bad behavior.”

The alleged victim told Jezebel that, after appearing onstage with the now-Minnesota Senator, she tried to shake his hand. Franken, she said, had another idea.

“I reached out my hand to shake his,” she said. “He took it and leaned toward me with his mouth open. I turned my head away from him and he landed a wet, open-mouthed kiss awkwardly on my cheek.”

“I felt demeaned. I felt put in my place,” she said, noting that this happened in front of many people, most of whom did not notice. “It was insidious. It was in plain sight and yet nobody saw it.”

“The other women’s accounts of him grabbing their buttocks in front of their mothers and husbands, I believe them.”

The unnamed accuser has said she considers herself a liberal and merely wants Franken to accept responsibility for the full range of his actions.

“My intent in coming forward is not to negate the good work he’s done or smear his name,” she said. “I want him to take personal responsibility for his actions, learn from this, not repeat the behavior, and go forward with respect in all his interactions with women.”

As of this writing, Franken has not commented on his latest accuser.

[image via screenshot]

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