A third woman is accusing New York Governor Andrew Cuomo of inappropriate behavior. This time, the incident allegedly occurred at a wedding reception in September 2019.
Anna Ruch told The New York Times that Cuomo, who she had never met, put his hand on her lower back, and when she removed it, he then put his hands on her face and asked her, “Can I kiss you?”
She told the newspaper that she was “confused and shocked and embarrassed” by the encounter, which a photographer captured. A friend who witnessed it corroborated her account.
Ruch’s allegations follow those of two former state employees — Lindsey Boylan and Charlotte Bennett — who accused Cuomo of sexual harassment in the workplace.
As previously reported, Cuomo recently issued an apology for what he calls comments that may “have been misinterpreted as an unwanted flirtation.”
“At work, sometimes I think I am being playful and make jokes that I think are funny,” Cuomo said in a statement issued in response to the claims. “I do, on occasion, tease people in what I think is a good-natured way. I do it in public and in private. You have seen me do it at briefings hundreds of times. I have teased people about their personal lives, their relationships, about getting married or not getting married. I mean no offense and only attempt to add some levity and banter to what is a very serious business.”
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Cuomo, who is in his third term, is also dealing with another crisis in his administration for his management of moving elderly people between hospitals and nursing homes in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.
New York Attorney General Letitia James will be opening an independent investigation into his actions. However, calls from fellow Democrats have already started to come in for Cuomo to leave office.
“The time has come,” Rep. Kathleen Rice tweeted Monday night. “The Governor must resign.”
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