Sen. Al Franken Hit With Second Groping Allegation : NPR
Al Franken
Sen. Al Franken Hit With Second Groping Allegation
Minnesota  Democratic Sen. Al Franken  is facing a second allegation that  he  groped a woman without consent while her husband took a photo of her with the senator at the Minnesota State Fair in 2010.
 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 " said Lindsay Menz  who told her story to CNN. "It wasn't around my waist. It wasn't around my hip or side. It was definitely on my butt " she said.
CNN confirmed the account with Menz's husband  mother and father  whom she told of the interaction at the time. CNN reports Menz also posted the photo on Facebook at the time and commented to her sister: "Dude â Al Franken TOTALLY molested me! Creeper!"
"I take thousands of photos at the state fair surrounded by hundreds of people  and I certainly don't remember taking this picture "  Franken  told CNN in a statement. "I feel badly that Ms. Menz came away from our interaction feeling disrespected."
Menz told CNN that she came forward following broadcaster Leeann Tweeden's account of a 2006 interaction with  Franken  in which she alleges  he  forcibly kissed her and took a photo in which  he  appears to touch her chest while she is asleep.
 Franken  issued an apology to Tweeden last week and called for the Senate Ethics Committee to investigate the matter. Tweeden's account occurred before  Franken  was a senator  which cast some doubt on how the ethics panel would conduct an inquiry. However  Menz's 2010 account occurred while  Franken  was a first-term senator and clearly falls within the committee's jurisdiction to investigate.
 Franken  will largely be cut out of the PBS broadcast on Monday evening of this year's Mark Twain Prize ceremony honoring David Letterman. WETA  the PBS station based in the Washington  D.C.  area that produced the broadcast  said in a statement  "PBS and WETA  the producing station  felt that the inclusion of  Senator Franken  in the broadcast at this time would distract from the show's purpose as a celebration of American humor."
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have echoed the call for an ethics investigation. While an inquiry seems likely  the panel has not commented on the  Franken  matter yet.
A  Franken  spokesperson told the Minnesota Star Tribune over the weekend that  Franken  has no plans to resign and that  he  is spending the Thanksgiving holiday in Washington  D.C.  with  his  family  "and  he 's doing a lot of reflecting."
The allegations against  Franken  come as the Republican Party is grappling with allegations of sexual assault and other misconduct against Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore  ahead of a Dec. 12 special election. Moore is accused of a range of predatory behavior toward teenage girls as young as 14  including one allegation of sexual assault. Top Senate Republicans  including McConnell and longtime Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby  have called on Moore to get out of the race. Moore remains defiant  and the state GOP largely stands behind him  as does GOP Gov. Kay Ivey.
Sen. Al Franken Hit With Second Groping Allegation
Minnesota   [TGT] is facing a second allegation that   [TGT]   groped a woman without consent while  [TGT]  husband took a photo of  [TGT]  with the senator at the Minnesota State Fair in 2010.
  [TGT] "pulled me in really close  like awkward close  and as my husband took the picture   he  put  his  hand full-fledged on my rear " said Lindsay Menz  who told her story to CNN. "It wasn't around my waist. It wasn't around my hip or side. It was definitely on my butt " she said.
CNN confirmed the account with Menz's husband  mother and father  whom she told of the interaction at the time. CNN reports Menz also posted the photo on Facebook at the time and commented to her sister: "Dude â Al Franken TOTALLY molested me! Creeper!"
"I take thousands of photos at the state fair surrounded by hundreds of people  and I certainly don't remember taking this picture "  Franken  told CNN in a statement. "I feel badly that Ms. Menz came away from our interaction feeling disrespected."
Menz told CNN that she came forward following broadcaster Leeann Tweeden's account of a 2006 interaction with  Franken  in which she alleges  he  forcibly kissed her and took a photo in which  he  appears to touch her chest while she is asleep.
 Franken  issued an apology to Tweeden last week and called for the Senate Ethics Committee to investigate the matter. Tweeden's account occurred before  Franken  was a senator  which cast some doubt on how the ethics panel would conduct an inquiry. However  Menz's 2010 account occurred while  Franken  was a first-term senator and clearly falls within the committee's jurisdiction to investigate.
 Franken  will largely be cut out of the PBS broadcast on Monday evening of this year's Mark Twain Prize ceremony honoring David Letterman. WETA  the PBS station based in the Washington  D.C.  area that produced the broadcast  said in a statement  "PBS and WETA  the producing station  felt that the inclusion of  Senator Franken  in the broadcast at this time would distract from the show's purpose as a celebration of American humor."
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have echoed the call for an ethics investigation. While an inquiry seems likely  the panel has not commented on the  Franken  matter yet.
A  Franken  spokesperson told the Minnesota Star Tribune over the weekend that  Franken  has no plans to resign and that  he  is spending the Thanksgiving holiday in Washington  D.C.  with  his  family  "and  he 's doing a lot of reflecting."
The allegations against  Franken  come as the Republican Party is grappling with allegations of sexual assault and other misconduct against Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore  ahead of a Dec. 12 special election. Moore is accused of a range of predatory behavior toward teenage girls as young as 14  including one allegation of sexual assault. Top Senate Republicans  including McConnell and longtime Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby  have called on Moore to get out of the race. Moore remains defiant  and the state GOP largely stands behind him  as does GOP Gov. Kay Ivey.