Republican candidate denies “sexually suggestive behaviour”
Summary of stories from Politico and the BBC, October 31, 2011
American business executive and Republican presidential hopeful, Herman Cain, was accused of “inappropriate behaviour” by two women in the 1990s.
The women complained of sexually suggestive behavior by Cain when he was head of the National Restaurant Association.
According to Politico’s sources, the women 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 the settlements.
Speaking to Fox news earlier today, Cain strongly denied the allegations and said: “I’ve never sexually harassed anyone.”
“And yes, I was falsely accused while I was at the National Restaurant Association, and I say falsely because it turned out after the investigation to be baseless.”
He said he had no idea whether the trade association provided financial settlements to the women who complained.
Cain, who was CEO of Godfather’s Pizza before heading the restaurant lobby group, has taken a lead in opinion polls of Republican voters in recent weeks, despite having never held public office.
Politico said the allegations included conversations “filled with innuendo or personal questions of a sexually suggestive nature” at association events.
Cain also allegedly carried out “physical gestures that were not overtly sexual, but that made women who experienced them or witnessed them uncomfortable”.
Politico said its report was based on multiple sources and documentation, including the recollections of close associates of the two women.
