Note: This post examines publicly available information and defense-raised challenges.
Below is the About tab of Anna Ruch’s photography website
The allegation
On Saturday, September 14, 2019, Ruch attended the wedding
of her friend Alexa Kissinger to Gareth Rhodes, a senior aide to Cuomo. Cuomo officiated the ceremony. Shortly after the ceremony ended, one of her
friends pointed out that the Governor was approaching them and suggested that
they try to take a picture with him.
Ruch said Cuomo put his hand on her lower back and when she
removed it with her own hand, he said that she seemed "aggressive"
and put his hands on her cheeks.
He then asked to kiss her in a request that was also heard
by her friend standing nearby. "I was so confused and shocked and
embarrassed," Ruch said, "I turned my head away and didn't have words
in that moment." "I didn't
have a choice in his physical dominance over me at that moment. And that's what
infuriates me. And even with what I could do, removing his hand from my lower
back, even doing that was not clear enough." "It's the act of impunity that strikes
me," she told the paper. "I didn't have a choice in that matter.”
Two days after the interaction with Cuomo, Ruch texted her
friend the picture with comments.
On March 1, 2021, The New York Times ran the article “Cuomo Accused of Unwanted Advance at a Wedding.” In it, Ruch described the September 2019 incident.
What was left out
Ruch was never employed by Cuomo or the State, so sexual
harassment law does not apply. The AG
lists her under other complainants.
After the ceremony, Cuomo approached Ruch and friends. One
of her friends suggested Ruch should take a picture with him. In a CNN
interview, her friend stated that Ruch asked Cuomo for a photo.
Ruch’s accusation set off a torrent of criticism and calls for Cuomo to resign. New York Rep. Kathleen Rice was the first Democratic US House member to demand that the governor step down.
“The time has come,” Rice tweeted. “The Governor must
resign.”
With her statement, Rice joined a small group of other
Democratic state lawmakers, including state Sens. Alessandra Biaggi and Gustavo
Rivera, and Assemblywoman Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, who have said Cuomo should
leave office in the wake of mounting allegations.
However, this was the little group caught on an audio
chatroom saying, “how do we make it impossible for our governor to every run
again?”
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Accuser #4
Ana Liss was an Empire State Fellow who worked in the
Executive Chamber from September 2013 to September 2015. She was assigned to work for a senior staff
member handling economic development. In
November 2013, Liss was informed that Howard Glaser, then Director of State
Operations, wanted her “to go over and work in his office.” Liss moved to Glaser’s
office, which was close to the Governor’s office. She thought her assignment to work with Glaser
was a promotion. She explained that “the
Governor had developed a reputation” for championing economic development in
upstate New York, where she was from, and she was excited for the opportunity.
Liss testified that she quickly came to feel that Cuomo and
his senior staff valued her for her appearance rather than her capabilities. Liss testified that she understood employees
who angered Cuomo faced outbursts from Cuomo and his surrogates, involuntary
reassignment, and even termination. She
observed that Cuomo was customarily aggressive and short-tempered with men and
flirtatious with women.
Liss testified that upon meeting her, Cuomo held her hand
and gazed into her eyes in a manner that Liss felt was simultaneously
“grandfatherly” and “somewhat flirtatious.” She recalled that a longtime aide told her
that the Governor liked her, which she interpreted to mean that her “appearance
was attractive to the Governor, and that was a good thing for [her] ability to
survive and stay there”
On multiple occasions afterwards, Cuomo kissed and touched Liss
both in the office and at work parties, including a celebration in May 2014,
after the passage of the budget. On that
occasion, Cuomo approached her, kissed her on the cheek, and slipped his hand
around her lower waist. Cuomo beckoned
his photographer to take their picture. Liss
produced that photograph from March 2015, which showed Cuomo with his hand
around her waist.
Liss said that Cuomo frequently stopped by her office and
interacted with her in a playful or flirtatious manner. On at least one occasion, Cuomo “kissed Liss’s hand and asked her if she had a
boyfriend and kissed her cheek.” Liss
testified Cuomo never asked permission to touch her, and his conduct was
unwelcome.
Liss testified that Cuomo almost always addressed her as “sweetheart”
or “darling,” instead of by her name. She described this as demeaning. Liss also noted that Cuomo never spoke with
her about work.
Liss left the Executive Chamber in 2015 when her fellowship
was completed. During and after her time
there, she had nothing but positive things to say.
On March 6, 2021, Liss gave an interview to the Wall Street Journal accusing Cuomo of inappropriate behavior. Her reason for coming forward with her experience was, “I spoke up about all of this, I did so by and large because the other young women that had come forward with more egregious allegations weren’t being believed and I believed them and I wanted to share an account that was less egregious and spoke to the broader culture that allowed for the things that happened to them to happen to them. The tolerance for those micro flirtations, I guess, that would allow for him to act a certain way behind closed doors with women in more serious manners.”
The AG’s assessment was, “we found Ms. Liss to be credible
in substance and in demeanor. Ms. Liss’s testimony was corroborated in relevant
part by photographs and other witnesses.”
The Governor testified that he did not remember Ms. Liss.
The allegations
Eye Candy The
AG’s report states that a former colleague of Liss recalled that he formed the
impression that Liss had been moved to sit closer to Cuomo because she was a
young, beautiful, blonde woman and that he understood that she was there to be
eye candy. Another former colleague said it was widely considered that Liss
office had been moved because of her appearance. Who these former colleagues are and what they
said and when are not attached to the AG report to question these
individuals. Also, Liss was moved by Howard
Glaser, not Cuomo.
Hand Around her waist
There is a photo of Liss and Cuomo together and he has his hand
around her waist. Where do you put your
hand on someone during a picture? And if
this moment from 2014 was traumatic, why did she have it framed and keep it on
her desk until at least 2021.
What was left out
In 2023 for the Trooper #1 lawsuit, Liss testified, “I was
just thrown into this group of women who said the Governor sexually harassed
me, and I wanted to be clear that the Governor didn’t sexually harass me.”
metoo-plot-to-bring-down-new-york-governer-andrew-cuomo
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