A 3rd woman has accused former President George H.W. Bush of groping her

A third woman has come forward to accuse former President George H.W. Bush of groping her.

Author Christina Baker Kline wrote in Slate magazine that she was invited to the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy fundraiser in April 2014.

She described Barbara Bush, the former president’s wife, as “warmly intimate and surprisingly funny” at a lunch in a private residence before the event began.

Then it was time for Kline and her husband to take a photograph with Bush, who allegedly called the author close to him and said “You’re beautiful.” After confirming she was an author, Bush then asked Kline if she wanted to know his favorite book, she said.

“Yes what is it,” she recalls asking.

“David Cop-a-feel,” Bush, who was in a wheelchair, allegedly said before squeezing Kline’s butt at the exact moment the photographer took a picture.

“It’s right there in the official photograph,” Kline continued. “President Bush laughing at his joke (like a mischievous boy, I thought at the time); me, struggling to keep the smile on my face.

“My husband, David, on the other side of President Bush’s wheelchair, is smiling broadly. He doesn’t know what just happened.”

Kline joins a growing list of women accusing powerful men of unwanted sexual contact — including two others who have very similar stories about President Bush.

Actress Jordana Grolnick told Deadspin that President Bush also touched her inappropriately during a photo-op and referenced “David Cop-a-feel” in August 2016.

“He reached his right hand around to my behind,” she said, “and as we smiled for the photo he asked the group, ‘Do you want to know who my favorite magician is?’ As I felt his hand dig into my flesh, he said, ‘David Cop-a-Feel!’”

Grolnick’s accusation followed another from actress Heather Lind, who in a now-deleted Instagram post detailed how President Bush allegedly “touched (her) from behind” and told her a dirty joke.

Jim McGrath, a spokesman for President Bush, released a statement, apologizing after the accusations from Grolnick, calling the former president’s comments an “attempt at humor.”

“At age 93, President Bush has been confined to a wheelchair for roughly five years,” he said in a statement, “so his arm falls on the lower waist of people with whom he takes pictures.”

This story was originally published October 27, 2017 at 9:01 AM with the headline "A 3rd woman has accused former President George H.W. Bush of groping her."