Third woman comes forward accusing Gov. Cuomo of unwanted advances — provides photo of encounter

A third woman has gone public with allegations that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) made unwanted advances toward her, and has provided photos and text conversations with friends to back up her claims.

The New York Times reported Monday that Anna Ruch — a former Obama administration employee and Biden 2020 campaign staffer — says upon meeting Cuomo at a wedding in Sept. 2019, he placed his hand on the small of her bare back, which was exposed because of the design of her dress.

The outlet reported:

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.

"I was so confused and shocked and embarrassed," said Ms. Ruch, whose recollection was corroborated by the friend, contemporaneous text messages and photographs from the event. "I turned my head away and didn't have words in that moment."

The Times included a photo provided by Ruch in its story, showing Cuomo with his hands on both sides of her face, which purportedly was taken during the incident.

It was widely dispersed on social media, as shown in the tweet below:

Ruch is the third woman to come forward with sexual harassment allegations against the New York governor in the past week.