Nicolette Davis, a 29-year-old former lobbyist and current second lieutenant in the U.S. Army, has revealed an incident of sexual harassment perpetrated by New York Republican Congressman Tom Reed, who recently said that he was considering launching a campaign to unseat New York Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo. Davis described the occurrence to The Washington Post, which shared her story in a piece this Friday.
In short, during a 2017 trip to Minnesota while working as a junior lobbyist for the Aflac insurance company, Davis, Reed, and others got together at a bar in Minneapolis. While at the bar, Reed, whose hand was outside of Davis’s clothes, “briefly fumbled with her bra before unhooking it by pinching the clasp” and “moved his hand to her thigh, inching upward,” according to the Post’s summary of Davis’s remarks. Reed was also “rubbing” Davis’s back, as the then-lobbyist put it in a text to a friend and co-worker at the time. Someone sitting next to Davis escorted Reed, who was apparently drunk, out of the bar after she asked for assistance, she added.
Davis’s story was corroborated by “a person who was at the table that night,” according to the Post, although this person asked to be unnamed in the report. Jessica Strieter Elting, the friend and co-worker with whom Davis spoke via text on the night of the incident, also confirmed that Davis relayed details to her. Aflac executive Brad Knox, who was Davis’s supervisor at the time, confirmed that he too heard details of Davis’s experience, adding that he “felt like crying because nobody should be subjected to that, especially a new young lobbyist.”
Davis, who will soon become a platoon leader in the Army, explained her decision to come forward with the following:
‘I need to always act in good conscience and set the right example for the soldiers I will lead, including younger females. I hope it will allow people who have endured similar experiences to feel confident enough to say something.’
Reed claimed in response to questions from the Post that Davis’s account was “not accurate,” but he does not appear to have bothered to provide any details of the supposed inaccuracies. Recently, a number of women have revealed incidents of sexual harassment perpetrated by Governor Cuomo, and in response, Reed insisted just last month that the “incidents of sexual harassment and pattern of abuse are abhorrent and have absolutely no place in our society, let alone the highest rungs of government.” His own behavior does not appear to match the standards that he’s presented.
