Second woman accuses Biden of inappropriate touching

A Connecticut woman accused Joe Biden of touching her inappropriately while she was volunteering at a political fundraiser in 2009, adding to the scrutiny the former vice president is facing for overly familiar physical contact with women as he mulls a run for the White House. Amy Lappos, 43, told the Hartford Courant on Monday that Biden pulled her close to him to rub noses while she was working at a fundraiser for U.S. Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.). “It wasn’t sexual, but he did grab me by the head,” Lappos said. “He put his hand around my neck and pulled me in to rub noses with me. When he was pulling me in, I thought he was going to kiss me on the mouth.” Lappos’ allegation came three days after Lucy Flores, a former Nevada state lawmaker, accused Biden of an “awkward kiss” at a campaign rally when she was the state’s Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in 2014. In an essay in The Cut, Flores said that news of Biden’s potential candidacy compelled her to speak out in the hopes of spurring conversations “about his troubling past as it relates to women.” She criticized photos of Biden for his “uncomfortably close” public interactions with females, referencing his contact with the families of senators and cabinet members during their swearing-in ceremonies. A Biden spokesman issued a blistering statement Monday morning calling interpretations of these resurfacing photos “ugly urban legends,” pointing to statements made by those with knowledge of two of the interactions pictured. Stephanie Carter, the wife of former Defense Secretary Ash Carter, in a blog post Sunday sought to “reclaim” a “misleadingly extracted” picture of Biden with his hands on her shoulders in a show of support at her husband’s swearing-in ceremony. A day prior, Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) told the Washington Post that his children view Biden as a grandfather figure as 2015 photos of Biden and his 13-year-old daughter — who appears to react with discomfort as the vice president whispers in her ear — recirculated. “The familiar characterizations of these two photos that have been uncritically perpetuated, turn out to be very false,” Biden spokesman Bill Russo said Monday, adding that some “even more insidious” examples of false claims exist online, citing photoshopped images of the vice president. “These smears and forgeries have existed in the dark recesses of the internet for a while,” Russo said. “And to this day, right wing trolls and others continue to exploit them for their own gain.” Biden in a statement Sunday pledged to listen respectfully to suggestions that he acted inappropriately, though he stressed that he never intended to cause discomfort or believed he did during his four decades of public service. “We have arrived at an important time when women feel they can and should relate their experiences, and men should pay attention. And I will,” Biden said. Russo on Monday said discussions of the rights of women are threatened by “the continued misrepresentation” of the president’s past interactions. “The important conversation about these issues are not advanced, nor are any criticisms of Vice President Biden validated, by the continued misrepresentation of the Carter and Coons moments, or a failure to be vigilant about a cottage industry of lies,” he said. Both Flores and Lappos claimed they did not speak out about their discomfort earlier for fear of being dismissed. “I never filed a complaint, to be honest, because he was the vice president. I was a nobody,” Lappos told the Courant. “There’s absolutely a line of decency. There’s a line of respect. Crossing that line is not grandfatherly. It’s not cultural. It’s not affection. It’s sexism or misogyny.” It’s unclear what impact the two allegations will have on Biden’s decision on whether to join the already crowded 2020 Democratic field. The former vice president has said he’s “very close” to making a choice, possibly as soon as early April. A slew of Biden’s would-be primary competitors expressed sympathy for Flores, while some Biden allies have tried to discredit her. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh on Monday said Joe Biden is a “very emotional person” in defense of the former vice president. “I think the vice president is pretty clear on his statement that he respects everybody and he respects women,” Walsh said at a groundbreaking event, MassLive.com reported. “First and foremost I think it’s important that we respect women and respect women’s rights.” Walsh, a friend of Biden who was sworn into his second term by the former vice president, said though he didn’t know the specifics of Flores’ accusation, he’d seen Biden express emotions when he came to Boston for the one-year anniversary of the marathon bombing. “He is a very emotional person,” Walsh said, adding, “We live in a tough world right now, to be honest with you.” Article originally published on POLITICO Magazine Source: https://ift.tt/2I1MiKE Droolin’ Dog sniffed out this story and shared it with you. 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