Dem senator calls on FBI to investigate 'Girls Gone Wild' internship controversy

A Democratic senator is calling for an FBI investigation after a press release declared "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis had claimed he had won an internship in the lawmaker's office.

A Democratic senator is calling for an FBI investigation after a press release declared "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis had claimed he had won an internship in the lawmaker's office.

 The strange saga started Wednesday morning after a press release posted on PR Newswire asserted that Francis won a four-week congressional internship in Sen. Mark Pryor’s (D-Ark.) office at a charity auction.

 According to the release, Francis planned to bestow the internship on the winner of his HDNet reality show, “The Search for the Hottest Girl in America.”

 Pryor’s press secretary, Lisa Ackerman called the news release a “hoax,” telling ITK, “The senator’s office doesn’t sell, auction or donate internships.” Ackerman added, “Internships are determined through an extensive application process.”

 In a memo emailed late Wednesday afternoon, Ackerman wrote, “We believe someone outside Sen. Pryor’s office has broken the law by fraudulently impersonating a U.S. senator, fraudulently attempting to sell a government position and using the Senate seal without authorization. We have asked the FBI to fully investigate who is perpetrating this fraud against the senator and the U.S. Senate.”

This article was updated and corrected at 9:21 p.m.

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