REPUBLICAN REP. REED ACCUSED OF MISCONDUCT
U.S. Rep. Tom Reed, a Republican from western New York, is accused of rubbing a female lobbyist’s back and unhooking her bra, without her consent, at a networking event in a Minneapolis pub in 2017.
The lobbyist, Nicolette Davis, told The Washington Post that Reed appeared to be drunk as he pawed her back and leg as the two were seated next to each other during a networking trip.
Reed fumbled with her bra before pinching the clasp through her blouse and unhooking it, then moved his hand to her thigh, she said.
A frightened Davis, who was 25 and on her first trip as a junior lobbyist for insurance company Aflac, texted a friend and co-worker that “a drunk congressman is rubbing my back.”
“HELP HELP,” she texted, before the person seated on her other side responded to her request by pulling Reed out of the restaurant, according to her account, published Friday.
Reed, elected to Congress in 2010, said in a statement, “This account of my actions is not accurate.”
Reed has been among the members of Congress calling for the resignation of Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo over sexual harassment allegations.
In late February, Reed said he was considering running for governor against Cuomo.
Davis reported the incident, at the time, to her supervisor at the company, thenvice president and counsel Brad Knox. Knox said he recalled Davis telling him that Reed had been drinking and had undone an article of her clothing. He said she declined when he asked if she wanted to file a complaint with the House Ethics Committee.