[TheRealVille]

Herman Cain, a Republican candidate for the 2012 presidential nomination, denied on Monday that he had sexually harassed women, rejecting a report that he was accused by two women when he was head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s.

Cain, who has stunned the political establishment with his rise to the top of the polls, issued the denial in an interview on Fox News.


Republican presidential candidate, Herman Cain, Oct. 31, 2011.



"I have never sexually harassed anyone," Cain told the conservative cable outlet.

He confirmed, however, that he had been accused but denied the allegations and said he was not involved in any payout.

Cain - a self-styled outsider relatively new to the national stage - faces a new level of scrutiny after a burst of momentum in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. He's been steadily at or near the top of national surveys and polls in early presidential nominating states, competitive with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

In his denials to the report published on the website Politico, Cain said he did not know how the restaurant group had responded to the allegations.

"Yes, I was falsely accused while I was at the National Restaurant Association," he said.

Politico reported there was a settlement that amounted to five figures to the women.

"If there was a settlement, it was handled by some other officers at the National Restaurant Association," he said, adding that he hoped it would have been minimal because the accusations were false.

The report said the women signed agreements with the restaurant group that gave them five-figure financial payouts to leave the association and barred them from discussing their departures. Neither woman was identified.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/internationa...s-1.393026

Speaking at the National Press Club in Washington on Monday, Herman Cain continued to defend himself against claims that he sexually harassed two employees while leading a trade association in the 1990s, telling the audience that he's the victim of a "witch hunt."

As he had earlier in the day on Fox News Channel, Cain admitted that he had been accused of harassment while he was the president and chief executive of the National Restaurant Assn.

Cain insisted to the lunchtime crowd that the claims were false and said he did not know whether they were settled or how much it cost to settle them.

While Cain's speech to the Washington institution had been previously scheduled, the harassment story, first reported Sunday evening by Politico, ensured that it was swarming with reporters and cameras.

As Cain spoke, NBC News reported that it had confirmed that one woman who worked at the association received a settlement after complaining about Cain's conduct.

“I would be delighted to clear the air,” he told questioner Mark Hamrick in a question and answer session that followed his standard stump speech. “In all my over 40 years of business experience. . . of running businesses and corporations, I have never sexually harassed anyone.”

But, he added, when he was accused of sexual harassment – “falsely accused, I might add….as leader of the organization, I recused myself and allowed my general counsel and human resources officer to deal with the situation.”

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-...olitics%29