Eighth woman accuses Al Franken of sexual harassment as calls to resign increase

Liberal reporter and columnist Tina Dupuy revealed Wednesday that Sen.Al Franken (D-Minn.) had groped her during a 2009 party celebrating the inauguration of former President Barack Obama.

Dupuy is the eighth woman to accuse Franken of sexual harassment. 

What did she say Franken did to her?

Dupuy claimed in an article published by The Atlantic that the senator groped her after she asked him for a photograph of them together. The story sounds remarkably similar to numerous other accusations of sexual harassment that Franken has been fighting off in an attempt to hang on to his Senate seat.

"D.C. was decked out and packed in for the inauguration of a young and popular new president," she wrote. "The town was buzzing with optimism, and one of the many events on our list was a swanky Media Matters party with Democratic notables everywhere."

"Then I saw Al Franken. I only bug celebrities for pictures when it’ll make my foster mom happy," Dupuy continued. "She loves Franken, so I asked to get a picture with him. We posed for the shot."

"He immediately put his hand on my waist, grabbing a handful of flesh. I froze," she added. "Then he squeezed. At least twice."

Dupuy went on to say that she doesn't even allow her husband to treat her that way in public because she feels it diminishes her "as a professional woman." She called Franken's actions "inappropriate and unwanted," and believed it was intentional and not accidental.

What has been Franken's response to the allegations?

Franken did not respond to Dupuy directly, but his social media account indicated that there would be an announcement Thursday about the allegations and the calls for him to resign.

When a report said that he had already decided to resign based on the statement of a Democrat official, Franken took to Twitter to deny the report:

Dozens of Democratic members of Congress have now called for Franken to resign, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) who reportedly spoke with the senator personally and told him to step down.