A New York Republican congressman is accused of rubbing a lobbyist’s back and letting go of his bra while he was drunk in a Minneapolis pub in 2017
US Representative Tom Reed, a Republican from western New York, is accused of rubbing a lobbyist’s back and unbuttoning her bra, without her consent, at a networking event at a Minneapolis pub in 2017.
The lobbyist, Nicolette Davis, told The Washington Post that Reed appeared to be drunk while kicking him in the back and leg while the two were sitting next to each other during a networking trip.
Reed fumbled with her bra before zipping it through her shirt and unbuttoning it, then moved her hand to her thigh, she said.
Frightened Davis, who was 25 and on her first trip as a junior lobbyist for the Aflac insurance company, texted a friend and co-worker that “a drunk congressman is rubbing my back.”
“HELP, HELP,” she texted, before the person sitting on the other side responded to her request by pulling Reed out of the restaurant, according to her report, published on Friday.
Reed, elected to Congress in 2010, refused to be interviewed by The Associated Press. In a statement released by his office, he said, “This account of my actions is not accurate.”
Reed is among members of Congress calling for Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo to step down on charges of sexual harassment. In late February, Reed said he was seriously considering running for governor against Cuomo.
Davis, now a 29-year-old second lieutenant in the US Army in Fort Sill, Oklahoma, contacted the Post through a complaint on February 11, the newspaper said.
Davis said he is speaking openly as he thinks about the kind of platoon leader he wants to be after graduating from field artillery school later this month.
“I must always act in good conscience and set the right example for the soldiers I will lead, including the youngest women,” she said. “I hope this will allow people who have had similar experiences to feel confident enough to say something.”
Her story was corroborated by the friend to whom Davis texted the restaurant, Jessica Strieter Elting, who heads the Aflac political affairs team in Washington, DC
Strieter Elting told the Post that Davis was shaken by the meeting.
“I felt horrible that she was in that position while trying to do her job,” said Strieter Elting.
Davis also reported the incident at the time to his supervisor at the company, then vice president and adviser Brad Knox.
Knox said he remembers Davis telling him that Reed had been drinking and had undone a piece of his clothing. He said she declined when he asked if she wanted to file a complaint with the House Ethics Committee.
Reed is a former mayor of Corning, New York. In Congress, he co-chairs the Problem Solvers Caucus, whose 24 Republican and 24 Democratic members meet weekly to address issues.
In response to the #MeToo movement, Reed said that sexual harassment training was a basic requirement in his office and that he had accepted it. He also supported bipartisan legislation in 2018 that requires lawmakers to be personally responsible for agreements resulting from harassment.
The statement provided by Reed’s office said, “I keep my record.”
Commenting on the allegations against Cuomo last month, Reed said: “These incidents of sexual harassment and pattern of abuse are abhorrent and have absolutely no place in our society, much less in the highest echelons of the government.”