An article again about his supposed sexual harassment:
One of the two women who settled sexual harassment claims against Herman Cain with the National Restaurant Association spoke publicly for the first time on Tuesday about her allegations against the Republican presidential candidate.
Moments later, a defiant Mr. Cain once again declared her allegations to have been found "baseless" and repeated his claim that his only offense against her was to have made a gesture about her height.
Mr. Cain’s denials came in a nationally-televised news conference in which the embattled presidential candidate railed against a "Democrat machine" even as the latest accuser to come forward, Karen Kraushaar, joined Sharon Bialek in publicly discussing what they called Mr. Cain’s inappropriate behavior.
Days after declaring he was moving on from the brewing controversy, Mr. Cain waded back in with an emphatic plea for decency from his long-time lawyer followed by a rambling defense of his own personal integrity and a condemnation of the media.
Anticipating calls fo end his presidential run, Mr. Cain declared that "ain’t gonna happen because I’m doing this for the American people and for the children and the grandchildren. And I will not be deterred by false, anonymous, incorrect accusations."
Mr. Cain called the news conference to respond to Ms. Bialek’s allegations, made in a dramatic news conference in New York City on Monday. But it started just minutes after one of his original accusers finally began to speak publicly about her experiences with him.
Ms. Kraushaar, a spokeswoman at the Treasury Department, said in an interview that she was upset that her name had leaked into some press reports. But she said she had decided to speak out now that her identity was publicly known.
“When you are being sexually harassed in the workplace, you are extremely vulnerable,†she said. “You do whatever you can to quickly get yourself into a job someplace safe, and that is what I thought I had achieved when I left.â€
In an earlier statement, Mr. Cain said that he has no memory of Ms. Bialek, his latest accuser, even as his campaign began an outright assault on her credibility in advance of a news conference by the presidential candidate on Tuesday.
In an interview with ABC News, Mr. Cain said he did not recognize Ms. Bialek and does not remember having any interaction with her. He rejected all of her accusations saying: “I have never acted inappropriately with anyone. Period.â€
“I reject all of those charges,†Mr. Cain said. “How can I defend charges when I don’t remember this person by name?†He added a few minutes later, “I don’t even know who this lady is.â€
But even as Mr. Cain denied knowing Ms. Bialek, his campaign sought to undermine her account by providing reporters with details of her background, saying that she had a “long and troubled†financial history that should call into question her allegations against him.
In an e-mail titled “Who is Sharon Bialek?†Mr. Cain’s campaign says she has sought the public spotlight by making “patently false allegations†against the Republican presidential candidate.
Mr. Cain’s public comments, and his decision to schedule a news conference, was the latest twist in a lurching, unpredictable strategy from the Republican presidential candidate and his inexperienced, threadbare campaign staff, which consists mainly of a manager, a spokesman and the candidate.
His campaign’s e-mail casts Ms. Bialek as a frequent job-hopper who has gone bankrupt twice and has what the campaign calls “a lengthy record in the Cook County court system.†The campaign lists her as the defendant in six lawsuits brought by companies and individuals.
“Which brings up the question of why she would make such reprehensible statements now?†the e-mail says. “The questions should be — who is financing her legal team, have any media agreed to pay for her story, and has she been offered employment for taking these actions.â€
In interviews on national television Tuesday morning, Ms. Bialek expressed little surprise at the criticism of her background.
“There’s not — there were no skeletons in my closet,†Ms. Bialek said on NBC’s “Today Show,†relating a conversation she had with her lawyer, Gloria Allred, before going public. “I told her that this may come up and I expected this. This is — this is what happens. It’s not about me. I’m not the one running for president.â€
A statement issued Monday night made clear that Mr. Cain believes that Ms. Bialek’s background will help to undermine her.
“After attacking Herman Cain through anonymous accusers for a week, his opponents have now convinced a woman with a long history of severe financial difficulties, including personal bankruptcy, to falsely accuse the Republican front-runner of events allegedly occurring well over a decade ago for which there is no record, nor even a complaint filed,†the statement said.
The statement also accused Ms. Allred of being a “celebrity lawyer who specializes in generating publicity for herself and her clients†and said Ms. Allred had “given over ten thousand dollars to liberal Democrats like Barack Obama, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer.â€
Through the day Tuesday, pressure mounted on Mr. Cain’s campaign, with Mitt Romney, an opponent in the Republican field, telling ABC News that the allegations against Mr. Cain were “serious,†with Ms. Bialek’s accusation “particularly disturbing,†adding, “they’re going to have to be addressed.â€
I personally think that these people hate Cain and are lying about not being paid or told to say these things. Despite being a democrat, after seeing what Cain has been going through, despite my hate for the ones who are inspire chef and try to take over our country, I do sorta feel sorry for him.