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Sharon Bialek accuses Herman Cain of sexual harassment as she sought help getting a job

By Nia-Malika Henderson,November 07, 2011

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Cain disputed the allegations at the time, according to the trade group, and the Republican presidential hopeful has continued to deny that he sexually harassed anyone, though he has acknowledged that one woman filed a complaint and received a settlement.

Cain’s campaign has tried to move forward and has said that he doesn’t plan to answer more questions on the issue. But prominent Republicans like Haley Barbour and Karl Rove insist that Cain must disclose all the facts before he can expect to truly continue his White House bid.

On Monday, the former Godfather’s pizza CEO is scheduled to appear on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”and have private meetings in California.

“I am in it to win it. And far as we’re concerned, these allegations aren’t going anywhere,” Cain said on Fox News. “I mean people might make up some more stuff.”

Monday’s news conference marked the first time that any of Cain’s accusers have actually come forward and stated publicly that Cain acted inappropriately. Politico reported a week ago that two women filed complaints with the restaurant trade group when Cain was chairman in the 1990s.

The trade group confirmed that a woman had filed a complaint of harassment against Cain while he worked there and said it was willing to waive the terms of a confidentiality agreement that the woman and the group had signed (though Cain had not).

But Bennett, the attorney for one of the women with such an agreement, said that his client wishes to remain private and would not be revealing further details regarding her story.

“My client stands by the complaint she made,” Bennett said.

In the statement late Friday afternoon, Gordon said: “We look forward to focusing our attention on the real issues impacting this country — like fixing this broken economy and putting Americans back to work through our 9-9-9 plan, as well as strengthening national security.”

Bennett said that for his client, revisiting the incident, which he said occurred over a month’s time and happened more than once, would be “extremely painful.”

“Mr. Cain knows the specific incidents that were alleged,” Bennett said. “If he chooses not to remember or not acknowledge those, that’s his issue.”

The matter was resolved in September 1999, Bennett said, adding that his client was “very upset at the time.”

“The fact that there is more than one complainant is meaningful,” Bennett said on Friday.

Since the scandal broke nearly a week ago, Cain has tried to reboot his campaign, which according to aides has raked in $2 million since the allegations came to light a week ago.

A new Washington Post-ABC News poll published Friday shows Cain virtually tied with former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney for the lead in the race for the GOP nomination, with most Republicans shrugging off the allegations but sizeable minorities nevertheless saying the scandal could make them less likely to vote for him.

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