Former President George H.W. Bush facing third accuser

Former U.S. President George H.W. Bush arrives on the field to do the coin toss ahead of the start of Super Bowl LI between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons in Houston, Texas, U.S., February 5, 2017. REUTERS/Adrees Latif - HT1ED251U8502

A third woman has accused former President George H.W. Bush of inappropriate touching.

Writing on Slate.com, author Christina Baker Kline says her encounter with Bush happened during a photo shoot in 2014, while she and her husband stood on either side of the former president.

Kline is the author of the novels “Orphan Train” and “A Piece of the World.” She writes that, upon learning she was a writer, Bush asked: “You wanna know my favorite book?”

“Yes, what is it?,” she replied.

“David Cop-a-Feel.”

At that point, she writes, Bush grabbed her buttocks just as the photographer snapped a photo. She said she quickly brushed his hand away.

Kline adds that later, a female friend of the Bush family asked her to be “discreet” about the incident.

Slate editors write that when they called the former president for a response, Bush spokesman Jim McGrath referred them to the statement issued earlier this week from Bush’s office, after the second accuser emerged:

“At age 93, President Bush has been confined to a wheelchair for roughly five years, so his arm falls on the lower waist of people with whom he takes pictures. To try to put people at ease, the president routinely tells the same joke — and on occasion, he has patted women’s rears in what he intended to be a good-natured manner. Some have seen it as innocent; others clearly view it as inappropriate. To anyone he has offended, President Bush apologizes most sincerely.”

Previously, actress Heather Lind wrote Tuesday in an Instagram post that was later deleted that Bush had groped during a photo shoot in 2013, and actress Jordana Grolnick told Deadspin that Bush touched her inappropriately during a photo shoot and told the “David Cop-a-Feel” joke.