Third Cuomo Accuser Comes Forward: 'Can I Kiss You?'

Written by <a href="index.php?option=com_comprofiler&task=userProfile&user=58493"><span class="small">Matt Flegenheimer and Jesse McKinley, The New York Times</span></a>

Tuesday, 02 March 2021 09:09

Excerpt: "Anna Ruch had never met Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo before encountering him at a crowded New York City wedding reception in September 2019."

New York governor Andrew Cuomo makes what has been described as an unwanted advance on Anna Ruch at a wedding reception in September 2019. (photo: Anna Ruch cellphone)

Third Cuomo Accuser Comes Forward: 'Can I Kiss You?'

By Matt Flegenheimer and Jesse McKinley, The New York Times

02 March 21

The young woman’s account follows two separate accusations that Gov. Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed two female state employees.

nna Ruch had never met Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo before encountering him at a crowded New York City wedding reception in September 2019. Her first impression was positive enough.

The governor was working the room after toasting the newlyweds, and when he came upon Ms. Ruch, now 33, she thanked him for his kind words about her friends. But what happened next instantly unsettled her: Mr. Cuomo put his hand on Ms. Ruch’s bare lower back, she said in an interview on Monday.

When she removed his hand with her own, Ms. Ruch recalled, the governor remarked that she seemed “aggressive” and placed his hands on her cheeks. He asked if he could kiss her, loudly enough for a friend standing nearby to hear. Ms. Ruch was bewildered by the entreaty, she said, and pulled away as the governor drew closer.

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