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Tom Crann and Peter Cox

Veteran: What Franken did was wrong 'but I do forgive him'

Sen. Al Franken
Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., attends a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing of the on July 29, 2015 in Washington, D.C.
Astrid Riecken | Getty Images 2015

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An Ohio military veteran who has alleged Sen. Al Franken touched her inappropriately while they were taking a photo together in Kuwait in 2003, said she'd speak with ethics committee investigators if asked.

Stephanie Kemplin, 41, who first told her story to CNN, spoke with MPR's Tom Crann Friday afternoon.

She said if contacted, it would be her responsibility to respond to the Senate ethics committee, which has opened an inquiry into Franken's behavior.

Kemplin said she was a big Saturday Night Live fan. So when Franken came for a USO visit, she decided to take a photo with him.

"And when he put his arm around me, his hand went around the side of my breast and I remember thinking like 'is he going to move his hand,' I was waiting for him to move his hand, to say 'excuse me,' to apologize, but then the seconds just kept rolling by and he was not moving his hand," she said.

She said she decided to come forward after seeing Leeann Tweeden's story.

"I couldn't believe he had done this to someone else and it made me feel like I had made every excuse in the book for him," she said.

She said she did not report the incident to anyone in the Army.

"I have been in contact with Leeann Tweeden and Lindsay Menz," she said. She has not been in contact with any of the anonymous accusers and hasn't made contact with anyone else making accusations against Franken.

"I'm not here to be vindictive, I'm not here to ask him to resign, even for him to apologize to me," she said. "I'm speaking out because what he did was wrong. What he did was wrong, but I do forgive him. I don't need him to say sorry for me to forgive him."

The bipartisan Senate ethics committee said Thursday it had opened a preliminary inquiry into the Minnesota Democrat's conduct. Franken has said he'll cooperate.

In a statement, Franken's spokeperson said the Senator "takes thousands of photos and has met tens of thousands of people and he has never intentionally engaged in this kind of conduct."

Four other women have accused Franken of sexual misconduct in the last two weeks.

Kemplin first told her story to CNN Thursday. The network said it talked with a former boyfriend and sister, who said Kemplin told them soon after that Franken touched her breast.