WASHINGTON _ "I know that I've let a lot of people down," Sen. Al Franken said Monday, repeating his apology to women who have accused him of touching them inappropriately.
"I am embarrassed. I feel ashamed," Franken, D-Minn., said during a brief news conference outside his Senate office. "I'm going to try to learn from my mistakes.
"I know there are no magic words I can say to regain your trust," he added. "That is going to take time."
Franken apologized a week and a half ago after Leeann Tweeden, a Los Angeles news anchor, said that he had aggressively kissed her during a rehearsal for a comedy skit in 2006, when the two were on a USO tour.
Since then, additional women have said that Franken inappropriately touched them during photos, accusing him of grabbing their buttocks. Franken repeated Monday that he does not recall those incidents, but that he would not dispute what the women said.
"You have to respect women's experience," he said, adding that he realized he needed to be "more careful, much more sensitive" to ensure that "this will not happen again."
Franken has agreed to an Ethics Committee review of his conduct. On Monday, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said Franken should consider resigning.
