Bush groped me as he sat in his wheelchair
Assault claim against ex-president
FORMER US president George HW Bush has apologised to an actress after she accused him of sexually assaulting her in front of his wife.
Heather Lind, 34, said Bush “touched her from behind from his wheelchair” as they posed for a photo at a screening of Lind’s TV show Turn: Washington’s Spies in 2014.
Mr Bush’s spokesman said he was sorry if his “attempt at humour” caused distress.
Lind, in a now-deleted Instagram post, Ex-leader George HW Bush said she decided to speak out after seeing a photo of Mr Bush, 93, and other former presidents at an event this week.
She wrote: “I found it disturbing because I recognise the respect ex-presidents are given. But when I got the chance to meet George HW Bush, he sexually assaulted me while I was posing for a photo.
“He didn’t shake my hand. He touched me from behind from his wheelchair with his wife Barbara Bush by his side. He told me a dirty joke. Then touched me again.
Lind claimed Mrs Bush “rolled her eyes” at her husband, “as if to say, ‘not again’.” The actress said a security guard told her that she “shouldn’t have stood next to him”. She added: “He relinquished [his presidential] power when he used it against me and, judging from comments of those around him, countless other women before me.”
A spokesman said: “President Bush would never intentionally cause anyone distress. He most sincerely apologises if his attempt at humour offended Ms Lind.”
chris.bucktin@trinitymirror.com