An interesting side story about a Republican congressman’s protocol for taking photos emerged from a new sexual misconduct accusation against Sen. Al Franken.
Lindsay Menz, 33, reached out to CNN several hours after news anchor Leeann Tweeden accused Sen. Franken of forcibly kissing her and groping her during a 2006 USO tour. Menz said Franken grabbed her butt during a 2010 photo-op at the Minnesota State Fair, making her feel “gross” and “uncomfortable.”
Interestingly, Menz remembers a photo-op with former Republican congressman John Kline going quite differently.
Menz said that shortly after her photo with Franken, she got ready to take a photo with Kline. As they were preparing to pose for the shot, Kline asked Menz if they should “mutually put our arms around each other.”
Kline, who retired from Congress this year, told CNN he did that “as a matter of practice, all the time.”
“If somebody wanted a picture, I would ask: should I put my arm on your back or your shoulder?” he said, and indicated that he felt particularly inclined to do so when taking photos with women.
