Facing a new sexual harassment allegation, Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain’s campaign says the former Godfather’s Pizza CEO will hold a news conference Tuesday afternoon to explain why the accusation is false.
“We are taking this head on,” Cain said Monday night during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live. (SEE ALSO: Cains says, ‘That is just the nature of things if you’ve ever done much in your life’)
Before a gathering of reporters in New York City, a Chicago woman named Sharon Bialek accused Cain Monday of making unwanted sexual advances toward her in 1997.
In a news release announcing Cain’s Phoenix press conference, his campaign took aim at Bialek’s lawyer, Gloria Allred, suggesting her involvement is suspicious.
“It is noteworthy that Gloria Allred is a celebrity lawyer who specializes in generating publicity for herself and her clients,” J.D. Gordon, a spokesman for Cain, said. “Ms. Allred is a high-profile Democrat[ic] Party donor and activist who has given over ten thousand dollars to liberal Democrats like Barack Obama, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer.”
“The questions the media should be asking are who’s paying for Gloria Allred’s fee, how did Ms. Bialek get introduced to Ms. Allred, and was she paid to come forward with these false accusations or was she promised employment?” Gordon said.
Cain’s campaign says he has never sexually harassed anyone. “After attacking Herman Cain through anonymous accusers for a week, his opponents have now convinced a woman with a long history of severe financial difficulties, including personal bankruptcy, to falsely accuse the Republican frontrunner of events occurring over a decade ago for which there is no record, nor even a complaint filed,” Gordon said.
During the appearance on Kimmel’s show Monday night, Cain described what it was like to watch Bialek’s press conference.
“The feelings that you have when you know that all of this totally fabricated, you go from anger, then you go, you get disgusted,” he said. “You try to control yourself, to make sure you watch this thing all the way through it, and I was listening very closely … There’s not an ounce of truth in all these allegations. And my team is putting this stuff together. This is why I’m willing to do a press conference tomorrow to set this record straight.”