“Can I kiss you?”: The photo which shows Andrew Cuomo harassing a woman in the middle of a wedding

A third woman accused the New York governor of sexual harassment on Monday, hours after the once-powerful Democrat formally authorized the investigation into two similar complaints. by two former employees.

Anna ruch, 33 years old, who unlike previous complainants she was never his collaborator, linked to the newspaper The New York Times What Cuomo asked him, at a wedding in 2019, if he could kiss her. Before, he had put his hand on her lower back and then she pulled it back.

When she removed her hand with hers, Ruch remembered, the governor remarked that she seemed “aggressive” and put his hands on his cheeks. He asked if he could kiss her, loud enough for a close friend to hear him. Ruch walked away as the governor approached.

“I was so confused, shocked and embarrassed,” he said to the newspaper. “I turned my head and was speechless.”

The memory of Ruch was corroborated by the friend, in the texts of the time and even in the photographs of the event, according to the Times.

New testimony further complicates matters for 63-year-old governor, the target of criticism, even from his own party, after temporarily become a national star for their management of the pandemic in 2020.

Ruch’s public complaint joins that of de Charlotte bennett, a former Cuomo collaborator who said he sexually harassed her last year, and that of Lindsey Boylan, a former adviser who described the governor’s unwanted physical contact.

Open investigation

This Monday, the governor formally authorized him to be investigated on the charges. The State Attorney General, Letitia James, He said Cuomo’s office gave him written permission to conduct an independent investigation.

“This is a responsibility we do not take lightly because allegations of sexual harassment should always be taken seriously”, James said in a statement.

The letter to James states that the results of the investigation will be “disclosed in a public report”.

Cuomo said on Sunday that “Sincerely regret” that his conduct has been “Misinterpreted as unwanted flirtation” because it is “playful”.

The governor denied engaging in any inappropriate conduct or proposition, and on Sunday he admitted the investigation into the facts.

To conduct this investigation, he first chose a former federal judge, but Senior officials in his party said this did not ensure transparency.

The Mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, rejected Cuomo’s comments.

“These are not excuses. He seems to be saying, “I was kidding.” Sexual harassment is no fun. It’s something serious “, says De Blasio, Cuomo’s former rival.

A member of a group of women parliamentarians in New York State, which fights against sexual harassment, described as Cuomo’s “insulting” comments.

“He assumes no responsibility. There is no reason to believe that he will not repeat this behavior ”, Said Riya Pasarell.

Requests to resign have also increased. “The time has come. The governor must resign”said the United States House Representative for New York Kathleen Rice.

“A person who treats women in this way is not fit to rule”New York State Senator John C. Liu said on Twitter.

Bennett described the governor’s response as “The actions of an individual who exercises his power to evade justice” in a statement Monday night to Times.

“I am with Anna Ruch”, Bennett tweeted separately. “His inappropriate and aggressive behavior cannot be justified or normalized», He expressed his solidarity.

25-year-old Bennett said Cuomo told her last June that he was open to dating in his 20s and asked if the age difference could influence a romantic relationship. reported on Times.

Although Cuomo never tried to touch her, “I understood that the governor wanted to sleep with me and I felt terribly uncomfortable and scared”, He said.

Boylan, 36, also tweeted his support, writing that Ruch’s story made her “sick”.

This former employee said in a blog that Cuomo harassed her while working for his administration from 2015 to 2018. He said he gave her an unwanted kiss on the lips, suggested that she play strip poker and touched her lower back, arms and legs.

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