Senate

Woman accuses Franken of groping during photo op

by Rebecca Savransky - 11/20/17 9:18 AM ET

A woman is accusing Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) of inappropriately grabbing her during a photo op in 2010.

The woman, Lindsay Menz, said the incident with Franken was “uncomfortable” and made her feel “gross,” CNN reported.

Menz told CNN she saw Franken at the Minnesota State Fair in 2010, at a time when he was a senator.

{mosads}She said Franken “pulled me in really close, like awkward close, and as my husband took the picture, he put his hand full-fledged on my rear.”

“It was wrapped tightly around my butt cheek,” she said.

“It wasn’t around my waist. It wasn’t around my hip or side. It was definitely on my butt,” she continued.

“I was like, oh my God, what’s happening.”

Franken told CNN in a statement he didn’t recall this photo.

“I take thousands of photos at the state fair surrounded by hundreds of people, and I certainly don’t remember taking this picture,” Franken said.

“I feel badly that Ms. Menz came away from our interaction feeling disrespected.”

Her story comes after Leeann Tweeden last week accused Franken of kissing and groping her without her consent in 2006 while the two were performing at a USO event. He was not a senator at the time.

Franken apologized after the woman came forward with her story and joined other lawmakers in their calls for an ethics investigation into his behavior.

A spokesperson for Franken said Sunday the senator would not resign in the wake of the allegation.

Menz said she told her husband, who took the photo, about the incident after it happened.

“He reached around her and kind of pulled her into him,” her husband, Jeremy Menz, told CNN, adding that he didn’t see what had occurred.

She said she was encouraged to come forward about her story after seeing Tweeden’s story.

Though she said told CNN, “I don’t want to paint my story in the same light as hers.”

“The reason I want to say something is if someone sees that I said something, maybe it would give them the courage to say something too.”

Tags Al Franken