Herman Cain was on Fox News this morning, and categorically denied having ever sexually harassed anyone. He did acknowledge that he was accused of sexual harassment in the 1990s. He repeatedly said there was nothing to the charges, which he called “baseless.” More once Fox posts the segment.
Update: Cain gave one answer that’s potentially problematic. He denied any knowledge of the National Restaurant Association settling with his accusers. He was head of the group at the time of the accusations, and was probably its head when it settled. Surely he would have seen the six-figure sums cross the expense reports at some point, even if he was unaware that the association was working to settle with them.
If evidence emerges that he knew of the settlements, even if the accusations themselves are baseless as he says, that’s a big problem for him.
Update: Here’s what Cain said about the settlements.
The allegations stem from a Politico report that two women, who were subordinates to Cain at the time, accused him of inappropriate behavior and reportedly received five-figure payouts after signing an agreement with the trade association — an agreement that also barred them from discussing the matter. Cain was the CEO of the association from 1996-1999.
But Cain said he didn’t even know of any deals in the case.
“If the restaurant association did a settlement, I wasn’t even aware of it, and I hope it wasn’t for much because nothing happened,” he said. “So if there was a settlement, it was handled by some of the other officers that worked for me at the association.”
“Five figures,” not *six as we’ve heard ealier — that could be as little as $10,000. It’s a safe bet that Politico has the paperwork on this, either from the accusers themselves or from the National Restaurant Association. (*six figures turns out to have been my mistake).
Update: Here is video of the Fox segment.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member