Article snippet: The Senate Ethics Committee is poised to investigate sexual harassment allegations against a sitting senator for the first time in more than two decades. Sen. MORE (D-Minn.) is at the center of a political firestorm after a reporter accused him of kissing and groping her without her consent while on a USO tour in 2006. The Ethics Committee hasn’t formally said it will launch an investigation into Franken, unlike a public announcement members made on restarting the investigation into Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) after his bribery and corruption trial resulted in a hung jury. Coons, Sen. MORE (D-Hawaii) each noted they couldn’t comment on matters that could come before the panel. But the move is viewed as likely after top Democrats, including Franken, and Senate Majority Leader MORE (R-Ky.) endorsed it. “I am asking that an ethics investigation be undertaken, and I will gladly cooperate,” Franken said in a statement released Thursday. A probe into Franken would mark a rare example of the panel digging into behavior that occurred before a member joined the Senate. Leeann Tweeden, a radio anchor for Los Angeles’s KABC, wrote on Thursday that during a 2006 USO tour in the Middle East Franken crafted a skit for the two that involved a kiss. She said Franken pressured her into practicing the routine and then aggressively kissed her despite her objections. She also revealed a photo that showed Franken groping her breasts while she slept on a military plane. The Constituti... Link to the full article to read more