■ New York’s attorney general is investigating harassment claims against Gov. Andrew Cuomo as a third accuser came forward Monday.
Third woman publicly accuses governor of offensive behavior
NEWYORK— A former aide accusing New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment condemned him Monday as a manipulative predator, as another woman said the governor had left her “shocked and embarrassed” after trying to kiss her at a 2019 wedding.
The woman, Anna Ruch, became the third woman to publicly accuse Cuomo of offensive behavior, and the first who had not worked as a state government employee.
She told The New York Times late Monday that she had met the governor for the first time at a September 2019 wedding reception. She said upon meeting her, Cuomo put his hand on her bare back, which she removed, and then put his hands on her face and asked if he could kiss her.
“I was so confused and shocked and embarrassed,” Ruch, now 33, told the Times. “I turned my head away and didn’t have words in that moment.”
A photograph of the event shows Cuomo with his hands on Ruch’s visibly uncomfortable face.
An email seeking comment was sent to Ruch’s business. Her social media accounts were private. An email was also sent to Cuomo’s administration for comment.
The sexual harassment allegations from the two women who had worked for the Cuomo administration led New York’s independently elected attorney general to say she was moving ahead with an investigation.
Attorney General Letitia James received a letter Monday from Cuomo’s office authorizing her to take charge of the probe after a weekend of wrangling over who should investigate.
The letter enables James, also a Democrat, to deputize an outside law firm to conduct an inquiry with full subpoena power. The findings will be disclosed in a public report, the letter said.
Cuomo has maintained he had never inappropriately touched or propositioned anyone.
The former aide, Charlotte Bennett, on Monday rejected Cuomo’s attempted apology in which he excused his behavior as “playful,” saying in a statement that the governor has “refused to acknowledge or take responsibility for his predatory behavior.”
Cuomo’s support has plummeted amid dual crises, even among fellow Democrats.
Both of New York’s Democratic U.S. senators have publicly embraced the state attorney general’s nascent investigation into Cuomo’s behavior. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Monday described the allegations as “deeply troubling and deeply concerning.”
And on Monday, President Joe Biden, a longtime Cuomo ally, declined to stand behind the embattled governor.
The harassment allegations come on the heels of accusations he covered up the true death toll of coronavirus on nursing home residents.
On Monday, Cuomo retained Manhattan litigator Elkan Abramowitz to represent him and his office in probes related to nursing homes.