A woman who accused Herman Cain of sexual harassment in the 1990s is ready for her story to come out, her attorney said Tuesday, even as the Republican presidential hopeful spent a second day trying to quell the mounting controversy and explain his conflicting recollections of the matter.
Joel P. Bennett, a lawyer representing one of two women who made the claims against Cain, said Tuesday that his client is barred from publicly relating her side because of a non-disclosure agreement she signed upon leaving the National Restaurant Association, where Cain served as president from 1996 through 1999.
Bennett is calling on the association to waive the agreement so the woman, a federal worker living in suburban Maryland, can rebut Cain’s statements this week that the allegations were false and baseless.
“It is just frustrating that Herman Cain is going around bad-mouthing the two complainants, and my client is blocked by a confidentiality agreement,” Bennett said in an interview. “The National Restaurant Association ought to release them and allow them to respond.”
Tuesday on Fox News, Cain declined to comment on whether the non-disclosure agreement should be lifted, saying he is consulting with a lawyer about the possible legal implications. In a statement, the restaurant association said that it had not been approached by Bennett but that it would “respond as appropriate.”
The disclosure Sunday by Politico that two women had accused Cain of sexual harassment and received settlements from the restaurant association sparked a political crisis for the Georgia businessman, who has risen from the bottom of the Republican presidential pack to become a front-runner for the party’s nomination.
Only Cain’s version of events has been aired publicly, and he has acknowledged that his recollections are hazy. Support for Cain has remained strong despite the controversy, his staff said, and the campaign claimed a banner fundraising day Monday. But that could change if one or both of the women speak publicly and appear credible, and Tuesday’s events made clear that pressure will remain on Cain to fully detail the incidents.
Bennett’s client is eager to share her story, the lawyer said, but according to someone familiar with her thinking who spoke on the condition of anonymity, she also is wary of her name becoming public. The woman “did not create this story,” the source said, and she thinks she has been “completely swept up in this hurricane” but she is discussing with her family whether to make her story public. Read More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/lawyer-cain-accuser-wants-to-talk-but-is-barred-by-agreement/2011/11/01/gIQA0bOIdM_story.html
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