By Katie Malone
Lindsay Menz, a Texas woman, reached out to CNN on Thursday saying that Democratic Senator Al Franken of groping her while they were taking a photo together at the 2010 Minnesota State Fair.
Menz told CNN that when she posed for the photo with Franken, he “pulled [her] in really close, like awkward close” and “put his hand full-fledged on [her] rear” as her husband took the photo. Menz said that she walked away after the incident and told her husband and parents what happened.
CNN gave Franken the chance to respond to the accusations and he said, “I take thousands of photos at the state fair surrounded by hundreds of people, and I certainly don’t remember taking this picture. I feel badly that Ms. Menz came away from our interaction feeling disrespected.”
In the picture, both Menz and Franken are smiling with their faces pressed up against one another.
Menz has said that she decided to come forward after Leeann Tweeden accused Franken of groping her in 2006. Those allegations came out last week in a blog post by Tweeden alleging that Franken “forcibly kissed [her] without [her] consent” along with a photo of Franken groping her in her sleep. Franken has since apologized, as ABC noted, and agreed to cooperate with an ethics investigation.
“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,” said Menz.
Franken could still face further investigation of his actions by the Senate Ethics Committee.
(Photo Credit: Cover)