As the investigation continues into the allegations of sexual misconduct by Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York – about whom tales of bad behavior are piling up like soiled wet wipes at a rib joint – a vaguely similar scandal has taken down one of his aspiring rivals.
Rep. Tom Reed, a Republican who had been contemplating a challenge to Cuomo in 2022, recently announced that he would instead be retiring from public office at the end of his congressional term. This change of heart occurred just a few days after accusations surfaced that Reed sexually harassed a young woman on a political trip four years ago.
While on an ice-fishing retreat to Minnesota in January 2017, the then-45-year-old congressman got sloshed at a group dinner at a pub one night and groped a 25-year-old lobbyist, according to her account. Among other offenses, he is said to have unhooked the woman’s bra through her blouse and slid his hand up her thigh. Nicolette Davis, the woman in question, was on her first big schmoozing trip and was anxious for things to go smoothly. Horrified, she texted a co-worker, “A drunk congressman is rubbing my back.” And later, “HELP HELP.” Davis ultimately asked the person sitting on her other side to intervene, at which point the encroaching lawmaker was gently led from the pub.
Davis, who later left lobbying to join the Army, deserves major kudos for sharing her story – though it is disheartening that it took four years for her to feel comfortable enough to do so.
When Davis’ accusations broke, Reed fired off a short, vague statement saying her account was “not accurate.” But by Sunday, he had reversed course. In a longer, more detailed statement, he stopped short of confirming Davis’ account but said that, at the time of the trip, he was struggling with alcoholism and that he accepted “full responsibility” for his piggishness. “This is in no way an excuse for anything I’ve done,” he wrote. “Consistent with my recovery, I publicly take ownership of my past actions, offer this amends and humbly apologize again to Ms. Davis, my wife and kids, loved ones, and to all of you.” He further vowed “to help those wrestling with addiction.”