WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – A crisis facing U.S. Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain threatened to escalate yesterday even as he declared himself the victim of a “smear campaign” over allegations of sexual harassment.
Cain spent the day attempting to clear up confusion over conflicting accounts he gave about the controversy, in which two women reportedly accused him of sexual harassment when he was head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s.
The lawyer for one of the women asked the association to release her from a confidentiality agreement to allow her to tell her side of the story, since Cain was telling his, The Washington Post reported.
“It’s just frustrating that Herman Cain is going around bad-mouthing the two complainants, and my client is blocked by a confidentiality agreement,” lawyer Joel Bennett told the newspaper.
“My client made a good-faith, honest complaint of sexual harassment,” the attorney said in a separate interview on CNN.
Bennett said his client was still deciding whether she wants to go public if the restaurant association releases her from a confidentially agreement.
The National Restaurant Association said it had not been in contact with the lawyer.
“We have seen media reports that attorney Joel Bennett is publicly making requests on behalf of a former National Restaurant Association employee. Mr. Bennett has not been in contact with the Association. If we are contacted by Mr. Bennett, we will respond as appropriate,” association spokeswoman Sue Hensley said in a statement.
Cain, asked in a Fox News interview if he would waive the confidentiality agreement so the woman could respond, said he could not answer yet because of legal implications and the need for consultations with his lawyers.
“I can’t answer that right now. It’s too soon” he said.
He said he did not think he violated the agreement because he did not mention the woman’s name.
