Another woman has accused Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) of inappropriate behavior. According to CNN, 33-year-old Lindsay Menz claims that Franken grabbed her butt during a photo-op at the Minnesota State Fair in 2010.
Just days ago, radio news anchor Leeann Tweeden claimed that Franken forcibly kissed her and groped her breasts as she slept in 2006 during a USO tour.
Before the news broke about Mendez, Franken’s office said the senator will not resign:
The Minnesota Star-Tribune reported that a staff member said via text that Franken is “doing a lot of reflecting” as he spend “time with his family in Washington, D.C., and will be through the Thanksgiving holiday.”
But now Franken faces new allegations:
From CNN:
Lindsay Menz, a 33-year-old woman who now lives in Frisco, Texas, reached out to CNN on Thursday hours after Tweeden made her story public. Menz said she wanted to share an “uncomfortable” interaction that left her feeling “gross.”According to Menz, she attended the Minnesota State Fair with her husband and father in the summer of 2010, almost two years after Franken was elected to the Senate. Her father’s small business was sponsoring a local radio booth, and she spent the day meeting various elected officials, political candidates and celebrities and taking photos with them as they stopped by the booth.When Franken walked in, Menz and her husband, who also spoke with CNN, said they recognized him right away. Menz said she had a brief and cordial exchange with the senator.Then, as her husband held up her phone and got ready to snap a photo of the two of them, 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,” Menz said. “It was wrapped tightly around my butt cheek.””It wasn’t around my waist. It wasn’t around my hip or side. It was definitely on my butt,” she said, recalling that the brazen act lasted three or four seconds. “I was like, oh my God, what’s happening.””He reached around her and kind of pulled her into him,” said her husband Jeremy Menz, who didn’t see what happened behind his wife. “He pulled her in and pushed his head against her head. It was over pretty quick.”
She quickly moved away from Franken afterwards and told her husband what happened. Menz said it made her feel “gross” and her husband wanted to confront Franken, but the first term senator was already gone.
Franken released this statement to CNN:
In a statement to CNN Sunday, Franken said he did not remember taking the photo with Menz and that he felt “badly” that she felt disrespected.”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.”
CNN wrote that Minnesota state law doesn’t consider “intention touching of the clothing covering the immediate area of the buttocks” as criminal sexual assault.
See? You just need one person to come forward and any other victims will find the courage to do the same. Menz told a few people about the incident and a friend “encouraged” her to tell CNN about the incident:
Menz was emphatic that she “absolutely” would not have decided to share her story had Tweeden not done the same.”I don’t want to paint my story in the same light as hers,” Menz said, saying she believes what happened to Tweeden is much worse.Still, she said, “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.”
AND BEFORE ANYONE ASKS, MENZ AND HER HUSBAND DO NOT BELONG TO EITHER POLITICAL PARTY:
Neither is registered with a political party and she said she has equally supported Republican and Democratic candidates while he said he has tended to favor Republicans. The couple voted last year for Donald Trump, and Menz said she has voted for Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who is a Democrat, in the past. Menz said she believes she has voted for Franken as well, but is not sure.
After Tweeden’s accusations, Democrats in the senate called for an ethics investigation. Franken said he will cooperate with the investigation.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY