And in the midst of questions of who is responsible for the breaking story, another female National Restaurant Association (NRA) employee has levied allegations against Cain, as have others not employed by the association.
On Sunday, Politico broke the story that during Cains 1996-99 stint as president and CEO of the NRA, he had been accused of sexual harassment by two different women. According to Politico, the two women ultimately left the NRA with financial settlements and signed agreements not to disclose any details regarding their departure. Politico reported today that one of the women received $45,000 (Cain had said she received three to six months of pay), while the other woman received $35,000 equivalent to a year’s worth of pay according to a New York Times story earlier this week.
Cains campaign chief of staff Mark Block flatly accused Perrys campaign of being the source behind the leaked information. In a town-hall meeting Wednesday night, Cain stated, Weve been able to trace it back to the Perry campaign that stirred this up in order to discredit me, my campaign, and slow us down.
Fox News reported,
The Cain campaign suggested the source for that story was longtime GOP consultant Curt Anderson, who worked for Cains failed 2004 U.S. Senate bid and had been debriefed on the harassment allegations by Cain himself. Anderson now works for Perry.
Anderson denied the accusation, commenting,
I’ve known Herman Cain for about seven years. I was one of several consultants on his Senate race in 2004 and was proud to help him. I’d never heard any of these allegations until I read them in Politico, nor does anything I read in the press change my opinion that Herman is an upstanding man and a gentleman.
I have great respect for Herman and his character and I would never speak ill of him, on the record or off the record. That’s true today and it’s not going to change.
Still, the Cain camp is unconvinced. This is one of the actions in America that is the reason why people dont get involved in politics. The actions of the Perry campaign are despicable, Block told Fox News. Rick Perry and his campaign owe Herman Cain and his family an apology.
The Perry campaign called Blocks statement reckless and false, and denied any connections to the story. In an e-mail, Perry campaign spokesman Ray Sullivan stated,
For a candidate and campaign that claim to be the victims of unfounded and unproven accusations, they are awfully quick to hurl unfounded accusations themselves. Contrary to the Cain campaign’s false accusations, there is not one shred of evidence that any member of the Perry team had anything to do with the recent stories regarding Herman Cain because it isn’t true.
Sullivan then turned the spotlight on the Romney camp, indicating that some of Romneys supporters are connected to the National Restaurant Association; and in turn, Romneys campaign has averred that any notion that they were behind the Cain story is not true.
Meanwhile, Joel Bennett, the attorney of one of Cains first two female accusers, announced today,
[Thursday] morning, I will be sending a statement by email to the attorney for the National Restaurant Association. I will be asking them to allow us to distribute the public statement without violating the settlement agreement which contains confidentiality provisions.
I will have no further statements until I hear back from the National Restaurant Association attorney.
Bennetts client, however, has indicated some reservations about revealing her identity publicly, which may prevent her from coming forward with her story even if a waiver is granted.
Regardless of the source of the Politico story, pollster Chris Wilson told KTOK radio that the facts eventually would have come out:
Everybody was aware of it. It was only a matter of time because so many people were aware of what took place so many people were aware of her situation, the fact she left after this. Everybody knew with the campaign that this would eventually come up.
Meanwhile, Cains supporters seem unmoved by the allegations, as he has reportedly received one million dollars in donations since the story broke.
Cain campaign chief Mark Block has also stated that he believes Politico owes Cain an apology, explaining, Politico wont release any documentation or even admit they spoke to these two women. Why? Because they have nothing and cited unnamed sources.
A new accuser came forward Wednesday, indicating that she also felt uncomfortable around Cain while working at the NRA. She stated that she had even considered filing a workplace complaint against him because of his aggressive behavior toward her, which included a private invitation to his corporate apartment. She explained that she eventually opted against filing a formal complaint because she began to have fewer encounters with him at the company.
According to Cains campaign, the third accusers claims against Cain are baseless allegations.
Still others who were not employed by the National Restaurant Association are now reporting episodes of Cain’s inappropriate behavior, according to ABC news: “Pollster Chris Wilson [mentioned earlier], a Perry supporter and former National Restaurant Association employee … said Cain made inappropriate comments to a woman while at a group dinner in Arlington, Virginia. An Iowa radio host also related that Cains suggestive remarks made the stations female employees uncomfortable.”
Cains campaign spokesman J.D. Gordon told CNN,
He has never acted in the way alleged by inside-the-Beltway media, and his distinguished record over 40 years spent climbing the corporate ladder speaks for itself. Since his critics have not been successful in attacking his ideas, they are resorting to bitter personal attacks. Mr. Cain deserves better.
Photo of Herman Cain: AP Images
Related articles:
Cain Gives Inconsistent Answers to Sexual Harassment Claims
Cain’s Campaign Already Struggling Before Sex Harassment Claims
Herman Cain Supports U.S. War with Iran
Cain’s Accuser Hampered by Non-disclosure Pact
