A former staffer for Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) told New York magazine that she was groped by former Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) at an event in 2006.

She said that when it was her turn to be photographed with Franken, “he puts his hand on my ass. He’s telling the photographer, ‘Take another one. I think I blinked. Take another one.’ And I’m just frozen. It’s so violating. And then he gives me a little squeeze on my buttock, and I am bright red. I don’t say anything at the time, but I felt deeply, deeply uncomfortable.”

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) declined to say whether she opposes a comeback by former Sen. Al Franken, suggesting that the Minnesota Democrat should make that decision himself, the Washington Post reports.

Said Gillibrand: “We’re a country that believes in second chances. We believe in someone who has humility, who comes forward to say they’re sorry and they have paid consequences and want to reemerge — that’s always there for everyone. And that’s a decision for someone to make themselves. It’s not my decision. It’s certainly not my responsibility. It’s for someone else to make their own judgments and decisions. But there’s always a path for redemption for anybody.”

New Yorker: “When I asked him if he truly regretted his decision to resign, he said, ‘Oh, yeah. Absolutely.’ He wishes that he had appeared before a Senate Ethics Committee hearing, as he had requested, allowing him to marshal facts that countered the narrative aired in the press.”

Former Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) hinted in an interview with WCCO-TV that he could run for public office again.

Said Franken: “I don’t know. I haven’t ruled it out, and I haven’t ruled it in.”

“That means a lot to me. It was very moving for me. It was very gratifying. I put my heart in the job. I miss the whole job. I loved that job, I loved the job as Senator. … It was very meaningful for me and bittersweet, I would like to still be there.”

— Former Sen. Al Franken (D-MN), quoted by WCCO, responding to a crowd in Minnesota during his first public appearance since resigning.

“As I leave the Senate, I have to admit that it feels like we’re losing the war for truth. Maybe it’s already lost. If that’s what happens, then we have lost the ability to have the kinds of arguments that help build consensus.”

— Sen. Al Franken (D-MN), quoted by the Washington Post, in his final speech on the Senate floor.

“At least four senators are urging Al Franken to reconsider resigning, including two who issued statements calling for the resignation two weeks ago and said they now feel remorse over what they feel was a rush to judgment,” Politico reports.

“Franken’s unusual timeline — in his departure announcement he said he’d go ‘in the coming weeks,’ without setting a date — has fed the fleeting hopes that there’s still time to reverse course… People familiar with Franken’s plans said he has not changed his mind and intends to formally resign in early January.”