I think if there was sexual assault going on, Franken wouldn’t want a photographer around. Do you think Franken did the sexual assaulting then called in the photographer to document the occasion with a shitty joke photo? Or do you think he did the photo and then had the photographer leave the room and do the sexual assaulting? Whether there was pre or post photo groping or none at all, she uses this photo as primary evidence that she was groped when it absolutely proves nothing aside from Franken being shitty at funniness. It proves she has an issue with exaggerating, possibly with honesty.
I don't completely disagree with you in the sense that I wouldn't necessarily consider the photo grounds for resignation; however, where you see the photo calling the character of the alleged victim into question, I see the photo calling the character of Franken into question, since he is the one joking about sexual assault and using a sleeping soldier as his prop.
What the photo says about Franken is that he makes shitty, immature jokes. Something we already knew. I don’t think there’s a correlation between shitty jokes and real sexual assault. (Although, give that a few weeks, the way things are going...)
What her interpretation to the photo says is that she is prone to exaggerating or dishonest (I’d guess the former), neither of which helps her other, more damaging claim.
Anyway, Franken worked on SNL for like 15 years and this is the worst thing that’s come out about him? He must be the most boring man alive.