General Discussion

which carries the NYT article, does not include the return to the Ruch complaint at the end of the article, where her friend adds details. It does say that Ruch removed Cuomo's hand from her back. It is later, after he asked if he could kiss her, that she moved away, so perhaps that is what I heard on NPR.

Later in the day, on Tuesday evening, Buffalo NPR aired its daily show from Albany, the Capitol Pressroom. The host interviewed Jesse McKinley, one of the authors of the NYT article. McKinley gave some background on how all 3 cases came to light and how the women were interviewed. He discussed each complaint briefly. When he talked about Ann Ruch, he stopped his description at the point where she said that Cuomo put his hands on her face and asked to kiss her. He did not mention at all her friend's claim that Cuomo kissed her on the cheek. I think I understand why. It's the weakest part of the complaint and cannot be corroborated by the complainant herself. She had to ask her friend if he touched her face with his lips. The photo corroborates the part about touching her face, but nothing else.

The strongest, and most concerning complaint is Charlotte Bennett's, IMO. She has documentation and a very good lawyer, the one who handled Dr. Ford's testimony in the Cavanaugh hearing. She will be more credible and Cuomo's reaction to her complaint suggests that he knows that there is substance there. Bennett has asked for other women from the governor's office to come forward. At the end of the interview, journalist McKinley said that other reporters are contacting people and looking into these complaints so he expects more to surface in a few days.