A third woman has come forward to accuse Gov. Andrew Cuomo, New York Democrat, of sexual harassment.
In an interview published Monday evening, Anna Ruch told the New York Times that the now-embattled governor came onto her in September 2019 at a wedding reception in New York City.
Ms. Ruch, now 33, thanked Mr. Cuomo for his toasting her newlywed friends, in response to which the Democratic governor put his hand on Ms. Ruch’s bare lower back.
According to Ms. Ruch, she removed his hand with her own, prompting Mr. Cuomo to say that she seemed “aggressive” and to place his hands on her cheeks.
The governor then asked Ms. Ruch if he could kiss her and, according to Ms. Ruch’s account to the Times, said so loudly enough for a nearby friend to hear.
A bewildered Ms. Ruch then pulled away.
“I was so confused and shocked and embarrassed,” she told The Times. “I turned my head away and didn’t have words in that moment.”
According to The Times, Ms. Ruch’s account “was corroborated by the friend, contemporaneous text messages and photographs from the event.”
Two former Cuomo aides have separately accused the governor of sexual harassment in the workplace, resulting in numerous calls, some from Democrats, for his resignation.
“A spokesman for the governor did not directly address Ms. Ruch’s account, referring to a general statement that Mr. Cuomo released on Sunday night in which he acknowledged that some things he has said ‘have been misinterpreted as an unwanted flirtation,’” the Times wrote in its report, posted Monday night.
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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