Revealed: Two women employees accused Cain of inappropriate behavior in 1990s
During Herman Cain’s tenure as the head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s, at least two female employees complained to colleagues and senior association officials about inappropriate behavior by Cain, ultimately leaving their jobs at the trade group, multiple sources confirm to POLITICO.
The women complained of sexually suggestive behavior by Cain that made them angry and uncomfortable, the sources said, and they signed agreements with the restaurant group that gave them financial payouts to leave the association. The agreements also included language that bars the women from talking about their departures…
Cain said he has “had thousands of people working for me” at different businesses over the years and could not comment “until I see some facts or some concrete evidence.” His campaign staff was given the name of one woman who complained last week, and it was repeated to Cain on Sunday. He responded, “I am not going to comment on that.”
He was then asked, “Have you ever been accused, sir, in your life of harassment by a woman?”
He breathed audibly, glared at the reporter and stayed silent for several seconds. After the question was repeated three times, he responded by asking the reporter, “Have you ever been accused of sexual harassment?”…
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…
“These are old and tired allegations that never stood up to the facts,” [Cain spokesman J.D.] Gordon said in an email response. “This was settled amicably among all parties many years ago, and dredging this up now is merely part of a smear campaign meant to discredit a true patriot who is shaking up the political status quo.”
Blowback
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I don’t think this is going to make any difference.
Rose on October 30, 2011 at 10:15 PM
Stop Mittens!
carbon_footprint on October 30, 2011 at 10:20 PM
Are you kidding? That was AWESOME!!
Someone here mentioned how we need the Happy Warrior candidate… that was pure Humphrey right there. That was Al Smith. That was cigar-chomping, whiskey-toasting, work-the-rubber-chicken-circuit-till-your-hands-hurt old school politics. If Rick Perry came out at debates like that, I’d feel much more comfortable supporting him.
Much more…
JohnGalt23 on October 30, 2011 at 10:21 PM
I used to adjust sexual harrassment claims.. we usually referred to the claimants as nuts/sluts/gold diggers..
I’ll add another .99 to my weekly donation.
kringeesmom on October 30, 2011 at 10:23 PM
Memo to Clarence Thomas:
Should the stereotyping Old Media keep throwing this dreck at Herman Cain would you simply mention those famous words by Ronaldus Magnus:
“There they go again.”
Please, please, pretty please?
Thanks.
viking01 on October 30, 2011 at 10:24 PM
Herb is done. Sorry baby.
Southernblogger on October 30, 2011 at 10:42 PM
Die hard is never enough to make a difference. There must be something for the others to latch onto.
Sarah failed and the sooner people admit it, the sooner they will avoid having her support somebody and thereby spread her personal toxins to that person. If she sticks to promoting of and speaking on general conservative principles, that’s a good thing.
platypus on October 30, 2011 at 10:48 PM
iDESIGN…weirdly you have been sooo quiet lately. Do you have a life or a political thought without Palin?
CW on October 30, 2011 at 10:48 PM
Ow. You’re gonna leave marks on the poor fella.
platypus on October 30, 2011 at 10:52 PM
Haters of Romney automatically assume it was Romney’s campaign putting out the stories. Those women cannot come out on their own now that Cain is in the limelight? The cultists have blinders and do not want to have their fantasy object examined. They would not accept that their man may have all the human weaknesses and skeletons.
bayview on October 30, 2011 at 10:56 PM
Not really…LOL
I’m laughing as your candidates bite the dust..:)
idesign on October 30, 2011 at 10:59 PM
Palin needs to get on the phone to Cain and find out exactly what this is about IF ANYTHING. If Palin will then come out forcefully in support of Cain as the unfairly targeted victim here and again skewer media bias while citing this as another in the long series of egregious examples mentioned on this thread, then it will be Politico on the defensive.
If Palin remains silent, this indicates unwillingness to sully herself and there may be something to this afterall.
Sarah, your move.
exdeadhead on October 30, 2011 at 11:00 PM
Cain’s a big boy and he should fight his own battles. How he deals with things like this are an important indicator if he is worth supporting or will crash and burn.
It’s actually Cain’s move.
sharrukin on October 30, 2011 at 11:05 PM
I’m getting real depressed. The prospect of ODictator getting another term grows every day.
andy85719 on October 30, 2011 at 11:10 PM
Palin is under absolutely no obligation to anyone on this matter so that whether she speaks or not should not construe any guilt on Cain’s part or unwillingness by Palin. She’s a private citizen free to do what she chooses with her own time. She certainly can relate to endless character assassination attempts by the media upon herself and her family and to the political threat Cain poses to Zero but “her move” could just as justifiably be to spend her time on other things than predictable Old Media s#!+ throwing.
viking01 on October 30, 2011 at 11:11 PM
Agreed. The onus is on Cain to explain, and explain fast, to keep this from becoming a two-week story, and either indict Politico for sensationalizing the story, or ‘fess up to what involvement he has. Palin’s involvement will do nothing but tie her to him and further extend the story.
KingGold on October 30, 2011 at 11:11 PM
Charming. The things Palin has to do to rescue deadbeats. And none of them will ever come to her resuce when she’s libeled. If she complains, she’s whining. Charming.
promachus on October 30, 2011 at 11:14 PM
Cain campaign is denying. If truthful, these are all the comments it will receive from him . . . denial, outrage, bias, unfair, etc., etc., etc. If untruthful or some “Anita Hill” liar steps up, he’s finished.
Cain is able to apply pressure to the wound and try to stop the bleeding. SP is able to turn this back on Politico quickly.
exdeadhead on October 30, 2011 at 11:15 PM
Cain denies report of sexual harassment
Geraldo made a big deal out this tonight and begged Herman to call in. J.D. Gordon called in and fell right into Geraldo’s trap and I fear made things worse than they really are.
Knucklehead on October 30, 2011 at 11:17 PM
When has Herman Cain ever in a position where his take about SP would matter? He’s been a front runner for what, 3 weeks?
Conservatives have a common enemy in the media machine which seeks to destroy any one of prominence. Frankly, all the candidates should be outraged and say so, except maybe the one behind this attack (Rom-nuts).
exdeadhead on October 30, 2011 at 11:20 PM
Sarah Palin isn’t Joan of Arc. It isn’t her mission in life to rescue guys like John McCain and Herman Cain if they cannot rescue themselves.
sharrukin on October 30, 2011 at 11:20 PM
My goodness does that Newt Gingrich get better looking every single day! At least with Newt it was just a good old fashioned sex scandal without the seediness of multiple accusers, harassment charges, and the subsequent hush money to make it all go away.
Poor pitiful Herb!I bet he didn’t really want to have to go through all of this to sell a few books.
Punchenko on October 30, 2011 at 11:20 PM
Nobody gives a damn about Geraldo. I’m far more concerned about the speeches he’s slated to deliver tomorrow at AEI and the national press club. He really didn’t need this.
Especially when Jim Pethokoukis has pretty much telegraphed his intention to destroy Cain in the Q&A.
The man’s still very popular among Republicans, so a media attack may actually work to his advantage if he plays it right. Mark Block had better earn what Cain’s paying him.
KingGold on October 30, 2011 at 11:21 PM
C’mon, people. Those of you acting so certain Herman Cain is doomed by this or that and must’ve been hiding in the chifforobe couldn’t be convinced by an Atticus Finch himself that the media are playing you for tools and fools to lynch their political enemy in their stead.
viking01 on October 30, 2011 at 11:27 PM
Well, he’s running from the presidency. If he can’t handle this, he shouldn’t have run in the firat place.
promachus on October 30, 2011 at 11:28 PM
Accusations of a sexual nature could be any little thing which might possibly cause Miss Priss to be offended. Work place harassment is in the eye of the beholder, and the boss is especially at risk.
But the media can take unsourced allegations of an unknown nature, add a little innuendo and cayenne pepper, and a full blown scandal erupts. Thanks for your 0.02.
exdeadhead on October 30, 2011 at 11:28 PM
Everything I’m looking at over at FaceBook and from his PAC, this came from Perry and the GOP.
Knucklehead on October 30, 2011 at 11:30 PM
Huh? Are you responding to something I wrote or have not already addressed?
Yes, Cain needs to be the first responder.
exdeadhead on October 30, 2011 at 11:31 PM
“Journalism” 101: “He’s sexually agressive” — How to go after a black man.
29Victor on October 30, 2011 at 11:32 PM
Interesting and makes sense. Perry and Rove, an uncomfortable and unholy alliance.
exdeadhead on October 30, 2011 at 11:33 PM
Perry, really? If that’s true, Perry just handed Romney the nomination on a silver platter with garnish.
Perry’s already got race problems attached to his campaign, fairly or not. And if it comes out that he helped the media portray the black guy as a deviant skirt-chaser (bonus points if the women in question are white) he’s through, and so is Cain if this keeps up.
If what you say is true, start investing in clothespins, because Romney’s getting the nod.
KingGold on October 30, 2011 at 11:37 PM
I’m just saying what his PAC just posted and have no idea if they know what they’re talking about or not. But I have no doubt this came from within the GOP, Romney or Perry.
And no one will ever be able to prove a thing.
Knucklehead on October 30, 2011 at 11:42 PM
Nobody ever proved that George W. Bush was behind the “black child” push polls in 2000. Didn’t stop campaigns and the press from asserting that they’d done it.
Of course, it would make me feel a lot better if the Perry campaign issued a statement that at least was as generous as RuPaul’s.
KingGold on October 30, 2011 at 11:46 PM
Rove and Perry have old rift going.
Facts are indignant.
Schadenfreude on October 30, 2011 at 11:54 PM
Please folks, if any if this actually happened it was 20 years ago. And if these women really had a case they would have taken it to the D.C. Human Rights Commission and it would have been public. The NRA is one of the biggest associations in DC and this would have been news in the association world. And Cain would have been fired. I knew people at the NRA at the time and never heard a thing about this.
My guess is that Cain was a tough boss and some of the women who worked at the NRA couldn’t handle it. It’s unfortunately common for women to cry sexual harrassment and then walk away with a big settlement.
rockmom on October 31, 2011 at 12:04 AM
The post was offered somewhat tongue in cheek. Suffice it to say neither are upset about this story.
exdeadhead on October 31, 2011 at 12:04 AM
If you’re right, and Cain’s campaign is smart, we’ll be hearing from a cavalcade of people who will vouch for Cain’s character and say that the Cain they know wouldn’t do this, and so on and so forth.
Surely he must have made some allies at the NRA.
KingGold on October 31, 2011 at 12:07 AM
womp womp
ernesto on October 31, 2011 at 12:13 AM
All speculations are foolish.
The ‘gold diggers’ should be asked for their money back.
The rest will unfold. Until then, they are…speculations and insinuations.
Schadenfreude on October 31, 2011 at 12:19 AM
You will perish.
Schadenfreude on October 31, 2011 at 12:20 AM
I know of some stuff that happened at the NRA before Cain got there that was not pretty. I think it’s entirely possible that he actually cleaned the place up and a few people there didn’t like it. Like I said, if there were serious harrassment Cain would have been fired, and he wasn’t.
rockmom on October 31, 2011 at 12:24 AM
Kinda like taking a page from Palin, eh?
MeatHeadinCA on October 31, 2011 at 12:33 AM
would be worse than Justice Clarence Thomas’. So obviously this wasn’t unexpected to me.
Yet, my eyes filled with tears when I first heard about this and it has taken me over an hour to even feel like posting anything. I felt such a deep sadness in my heart for this good and decent man and for how he and his family must feel tonight.
If anyone reading here knows Mr. Cain, please tell him I am praying for him and my heart is with him.
He will get past this. It will linger in some quarters unfortunately (that what gossip, lies and rumors do), but it will not stand. Anyone thinking this is a death knell for Cain is foolish. How other candidates handle this will be remembered.
Unfair and ugly attacks on Cain, like this or the “uncle t” kind only make us more protective towards him and support him all the more. His political enemies, including the liberal media should know that.
Elisa on October 31, 2011 at 12:36 AM
Just a couple days ago I posted that Cain was in for “a high tech lynching” that would be worse than Justice Clarence Thomas’. So obviously this wasn’t unexpected to me.
Yet, my eyes filled with tears when I first heard about this and it has taken me over an hour to even feel like posting anything. I felt such a deep sadness in my heart for this good and decent man and for how he and his family must feel tonight.
If anyone reading here knows Mr. Cain, please tell him I am praying for him and my heart is with him.
He will get past this. It will linger in some quarters unfortunately (that what gossip, lies and rumors do), but it will not stand. Anyone thinking this is a death knell for Cain is foolish. How other candidates handle this will be remembered.
Unfair and ugly attacks on Cain, like this or the “uncle t” kind only make us more protective towards him and support him all the more. His political enemies, including the liberal media should know that.
Elisa on October 31, 2011 at 12:37 AM
Sorry about the first post.
Elisa on October 31, 2011 at 12:38 AM
Wonder why they pulled the trigger on this story this early, rather than in about 6 weeks when there is no time to do damage control?
Call me unsurprised that the dirty tricks are coming out.
I am beginning to think that the circular firing squad in the GOP nominee circle will take each other out and leave the oval office for Obama to waltz into, on a certain day in January, 2013.
Sigh.
karenhasfreedom on October 31, 2011 at 12:46 AM
There are more of these stories about Cain on the way unfortunately. Everyone here in Atlanta knows how Herman rolls. He likes the ladies, a lot.
Reagan Republican on October 31, 2011 at 12:54 AM
Care to share?
MeatHeadinCA on October 31, 2011 at 12:59 AM
I am surprised that anyone would accuse Perry of being behind this story. Please . . . what part of anything that Perry has shown would indicate that he would lie about Cain? Give me a break.
That being said, this kind of stuff really irritates me. I would never vote for Cain unless he was the last man standing against Obama, but there is no call for this kind of garbage. Now, if it is true, that is another thing, but until it is proven true, this should not ever have been reported. Grrrrr! It made me very angry when they did this to Clarence Thomas. This makes me as equally angry. If it is true, then I will support him stepping down and going back to his retirement.
Voter from WA State on October 31, 2011 at 1:03 AM
Often those who live in close proximity to someone know a lot more than others do. When I lived in Little Rock while Clinton was Governor, I heard a lot of stories about Bill Clinton. It was all proven to be very true. However, no one seemed to want to talk about it much while he was running for President. I told people about what I had heard, but no one seemed to care.
Did you know that while Clinton was governor Hillary didn’t live in the Governor Mansion for a while because she said she didn’t like living in it? Chelsea lived with Hillary. Not many people knew that.
Voter from WA State on October 31, 2011 at 1:08 AM
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