Herman Cain Warned of Sexual Harassment Allegations, Says Aide; Cain Camp Denies
According to Herman Cain’s aide, the presidential hopeful had warned his campaign of sexual harassment allegations from the late 1990s possibly surfacing, Politico reported. However, Cain representatives have denied this.
The aide, who at this time is anonymous, said that Cain told him he had beaten the case, and the woman had compensated him for his legal expenses as a result.
This is only one side of the story, however.
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Politico maintains that they have several viable sources confirming that Cain was involved in improper conduct during his time as head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s.
The nameless informants alleged that at least two women brought their complaints of lewd behavior and gestures on Cain’s part to co-workers and superiors in an effort to make him stop.
Instead of investigating the claims brought against Cain, the sources reveal, the two women were given cash settlements to keep quiet about the events.
This negates the possibility of actual testimony from the two women – just like the case of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s nomination in 1991 – which would bring more facts to light.
Politico claims to have “seen documentation” regarding the episodes. When Jonathan Martin, a reporter, asked Cain whether he had ever been accused of sexual harassment, Cain responded, “Have you ever been accused of sexual harassment?”
In a written statement denying the accusations, J.D. Gordon, the Cain campaign’s spokesperson, said that the media is, “casting aspersions on his character and spreading rumors that never stood up to the facts.”
Cain’s assertion to Politico that he was “vaguely familiar” with the allegations contradicts his aide’s report of forewarning by the business executive.
Several former colleagues have attested that sexual harassment would be out of character for the affable Cain.
Mary Ann Cricchio, a National Restaurant Association board member elected 1998, said that Cain’s treatment of women was, “the same as his treatment of men. Herman treated everyone great,” says Politico.
Joseph Fassler, immediate past chairman of the association, was instrumental in getting Cain on the board.
Fassler stated, “[The accusations are] a shock to me. As an officer during all of Herman’s years there as a paid executive…none of that stuff ever surfaced to me.”
Today, as Cain speaks at a think tank in Washington, D.C., he is expected to personally address the allegations of sexual harassment, as well as the anonymity of the women and sources bringing these claims against him.
