Posted on October 31, 2011

Herman Cain Camp Brands Sexual Harassment Accusations a Liberal Attack

Rachel Rose Hartman, Yahoo!, October 31, 2011

Herman Cain’s campaign Sunday branded a Politico story on accusations of sexual harassment Cain faced in the 1990s as nothing more than a partisan attack.

“Fearing the message of Herman Cain who is shaking up the political landscape in Washington, Inside the Beltway media have begun to launch unsubstantiated personal attacks on Cain,” spokesman J. D. Gordon said in a statement about the former Godfather’s Pizza CEO.

Gordon said the Politico piece centered on “thinly sourced allegations” relying more on rumors than fact. {snip}

“Mr. Cain has never sexually harassed anyone–period,” Cain chief of staff Mark Block said during an MSNBC interview Monday morning.

The Politico story claimed at least two female employees complained about sexually suggestive behavior from Cain while he served as head of the National Restaurant Association. The group reportedly paid out five-figure separation packages to the accusers. Cain’s camp has not denied outright that Cain has been accused of harassment or that the incidents led to financial settlements.

The allegations included suggestive conversations and physical gestures, according to Politico:

The sources–which include the recollections of close associates and other documentation–describe episodes that left the women upset and offended. These incidents include conversations allegedly filled with innuendo or personal questions of a sexually suggestive nature, taking place at hotels during conferences, at other officially sanctioned restaurant association events and at the association’s offices. There were also descriptions of physical gestures that were not overtly sexual but that made women who experienced or witnessed them uncomfortable and that they regarded as improper in a professional relationship.

{snip}

Gordon told Politico Sunday that Cain indicated to staff that he was “vaguely familiar” with the charges and that he was aware the restaurant association’s general counsel had resolved the matter.

{snip}