Herman Cain - Sexual Harassment Claims

Last Updated: Nov 10, 2011

Summary

On October 30, 2011, Politico.com reported that while Herman Cain was the head of the National Restaurant Association (NRA), he was accused of sexual harassment by two different women in unrelated instances. The story stated that two women alleged inappropriate conduct and unwanted sexual advancements and received payouts from the NRA in the five figure range.

The exact nature of the harassment or the settlement was not made clear from the article. It only stated that there were conversations between Herman Cain and the women in question that were filled with innuendo's and personal questions of a sexual nature. The article stated that the conversations and questions made the women uncomfortable and were improper for a professional relationship. The article also quotes supporters of Herman Cain that worked with him at the time and were not aware of any improper behavior.

While speaking at the National Press Club that same day, Mr Cain stated that he was indeed accused of sexual harassment while working at the National Restaurant Association. He asserted that he was cleared of those charges and that he was unaware of any settlement arising from the incident.

That same day, Herman Cain appeared on Fox News and again discussed the sexual harassment claims. He once again asserted that he was accused of harassment, but that it was a false accusation. He noted the support from those around him cited in the Politico article. This time, Herman Cain acknowledged that the Restaurant Association may have made a settlement, but he was unaware of it. He stated that he was aware of only one formal accusation of harassment.

The next day, Herman Cain appeared on PBS and discussed the differences in his story regarding the settlement. He stated that he simply remembered more details surrounding the incident as the day wore on. He also described one incident in which he raised his hand to his chin and told the woman that she was the same height as his wife, meaning the height of his chin.

Mr Cain described the same scenario in an evening appearance on the Greta Van Susteran show. There, he again told the story referencing a woman's height as the source of the accusation and restated that he was cleared in the investigation.

On November 2, 2011 a political pollster named Chris Wilson was interviewed on a local radio show in Oklahoma and claimed that he witnessed some inappropriate behavior by Mr Cain while working at the National Restaurant Association. He also stated that he knew the identity of one woman involved and that she was willing to discuss the incident, but was under a confidentiality agreement not to discuss the matter. However, Mr Wilson noted that after Herman Cain had discussed the matter on the news, it seemed that the agreement had already been violated and the woman would eventually be allowed to discuss the matter. He also stated that her statements would end the Cain campaign for Presidency.

That same day, the Cain campaign stated that the Perry campaign was responsible for Politico story that first published the harassment claims. As evidence, the Cain campaign noted that one week earlier the Perry campaign had hired a firm named OnMessage Inc. One of the partners in that firm is a man named Curtis Anderson. Mr Anderson was Herman Cain's general campaign manager for his 2004 Senate bid. Cain has stated that he told Anderson about the single formal complaint that he was aware of so that there would be no surprises in that campaign. Mr Cain also stated that he told Mr Anderson that he was cleared of any wrong doing in the matter. Anderson is also an infrequent contributor to Politico.com

Again, on November 2 the AP reported that it had contacted a third woman who was claiming that Herman Cain had acted inappropriately towards her while he ran the National Restaurant Association. The only details available about the claim.

On November 7, Sharon Bialek held a press conference and claimed that in the late 1990's she had approached Mr Cain and asked if he would assist her with finding employment. She had met Mr Cain during her previous employment at the NRA. She alleged that Mr Cain reached for her genitalia and pulled her head towards his groin. When she rebuked hime, he asked her "You want a job, right?"

The following day, "The Daily" revealed the identity of one of the accussers that received a cash settlement from the NRA as Karen Kraushaar. After receiving the settlement from the NRA, Mrs Kraushaar was employed by the INS where she filed a complaint three years later using the same lawyer. She alleged unfair treatment by being refused the right to work at home after a car accident and sexually inappropriate conduct in the forwarding of email jokes to her and other workers. She continues to work for the government.

Politico Article

On October 30, 2011 Politico ran an article initially noting the allegations against Herman Cain that were made in the 1990's. The article denotes two allegations of sexual harassment by two different people. The specifics of the accusations are not available, and the article states that the incidents included conversations allegedly filled with innuendo or personal questions of a sexually suggestive nature, taking place at hotels during conferences, at other officially sanctioned restaurant association events and at the association’s offices, and physical gestures that were not overtly sexual but that made women who experienced or witnessed them uncomfortable and that they regarded as improper in a professional relationship.

National Press Club Speech

On Sunday October 30 Herman Cain spoke at the National Press Club. He acknowledged there that he was indeed accused of sexual harassment and that an investigation was conducted. He stated that he was unaware of a settlement and that he was exonerated in the investigation.

Fox News Appearance

On Sunday October 30, Herman Cain appeared on Fox News and discussed the allegation. He stated that the initial accusation was false and that he was unaware of any settlement in his name with the National Restaurant Association.

PBS News Hour

On Monday, October 31, Herman Cain appeared on PBS and discussed the allegations. He notes that he remembered one instance in which he referenced a woman's height as being similar to his wife's height and that led to an allegation. He states that the false allegation is baffling.

Greta Van Susteran Appearance

In the evening of October the 31, Herman Cain appeared on the Greta Van Susteran show and discussed the harassment claims. He stated that he remembered one charge made against him, but did not even remember the name of the lady involved. He acknowledged that there was a settlement, but claimed that he was exonerated.

Mr Cain also stated again that he remembered one instance with the person in question where he brought his hand to his chin and remarked that she was the same height as his wife. He remarked that in his memory the settlement given to the woman in question was roughly equivalent to the amount she would have gotten under normal severance agreements.

Chris Wilson Allegations

On November 2, 2011 KTOK local radio reported an interview it had conducted with a political pollster named Chris Wilson. Mr Wilson had worked at the National Restaurant Association at the same time as Mr Cain and stated that he had witnessed incidents of Mr Cain behaving inappropriatly with women. He specifically noted an incident in Crystal City, Virginia in the late 1990's that at least three other people witnessed.

Interviewer: Herman Cain, you know, he even thought that at some point he was going to get knocked and here it is. Was this something that you expected?
Chris Wilson: Well it was. I'm gonna break a little bit of news right now because I actually declined to talk about this for the last couple of days. I was the pollster for the National Restaurant Association when Herman Cain was the head of it. And I'll tell you, I was actually around a couple of times where this happened. And anyone who was involved with the restaurant association at the time knew that this was gonna come up.
I know the woman that is now being talked about. She wants to come forward now and talk. So she (inaudible) with Peter Killgore, who is the attorney for the National Restaurant Association. My bet is that the NRA ... that's not to be confused with the rifle association, but the Restaurant Association is also called the NRA ... is going to have no choice but to release her from the confidenciality agreement because I think that Herman Cain has already violated it by addressing it on the air last night. So you're probably going to see her on TV.
I'll tell you at the time she was a very lower level staffer. She was maybe two years out of college, and this all occured at a restaurant in Crystal City and everybody was well aware of it. So it was only a matter of time, because so many people were aware of what took place, and so many people were aware of her situation and the fact that she left after this ... so ... everybody knew but the campaign that this would eventually come up.
Now, the question is how it affects Cain and how it affects his campaign, because there are several ways to deal with this. You have the way that Bill Clinton dealt with it that allowed him to get through it. Although I think that Democratic Primary voters are more fogiving of an issue like sexual harassment or affairs out of marriage than Republican primary voters tend to be.
Having said that, I don't think that Cain has done a good job strategically of handling it so far and I think that he is really digging himself in a deeper hole by now challenging her and probably putting her in a situation and putting the restaurant association in a situation where they have to release her from her confidentiality agreement so she can talk about it.
If she does go on the air and talk about it, I think that it'll be the end of his campaign.
Interviewer: So did he do it and what did he do?
Chris Wilson: Well, at that point there are some legal issues and I don't want to be drawn into it specifically, but if she comes out and talks about it, like I said, it'll probably be the end of his campaign.

Rick Perry Behind Allegations

On October 24, 2011 the Perry for President campaign announced that it had hired a political consulting firm named OnMessage Inc. One of the partners in that firm is Curt Anderson. Anderson was a general campaign consultant for Herman Cain's failed 2004 Senate bid.

On November 2, Herman Cain stated that he had briefed Mr. Anderson of one sexual harassment claim that was made against him in the 1990's at the NRA and that he was cleared of that charge.

I told my wife about this in 1999 and I’ve got nothing to hide. When I sat down with my general campaign consultant Curt Anderson in a private room in our campaign offices in 2003 we discussed opposition research on me. It was a typical campaign conversation. I told him that there was only one case, one set of charges, one woman while I was at the National Restaurant Association. Those charges were baseless, but I thought he needed to know about them. I don’t recall anyone else being in the room when I told him.

Mr Cain also stated that he did not regret telling Mr Anderson about the allegation as he felt the campaign strategist should be aware of any allegations that might arise. However, the Cain campaign pointed out the timing of the hiring of Anderson's firm for Governor Perry as obvious evidence that Anderson was behind the Politico article that initially broke the story a week later. Anderson is an infrequent contributor to Politico.

Allegations of a Third Woman

On November 2, 2011 the AP reported that a third woman had been contacted by the AP and admitted that Herman Cain had behaved aggressively towards her when she and Mr Cain worked together at the Restaurant Association. She was quoted by the AP as stating that Cain's actions were inappropriate and made her feel uncomfortable. The only specifics provided about Mr Cain's conduct was that he invited her to his corporate apartment.

Allegations of Sharon Bialek

On Monday November 7, 2011 a fourth woman came forward with allegations that Herman Cain sexually harassed her while working at the National Restaurant Association. Sharon Bialek claimed that she met Herman Cain briefly while she was working for the National Restaurant Association. After she lost her job there, she contacted him to ask about help obtaining a new job. Upon meeting Mr Cain in Washington, Mrs Bialek claims that Mr Cain upgraded her hotel room and then attempted to grope her. When she refused, he asked "you want a job, right?"

I met Mr Cain while I was employed at the educational department of the National Restaurant Association. About a month before I was terminated, I interacted with him on several occasions during the 5 days of the NRA convention in Chicago. Mr Cain sat next to me at Mar-Shey's restaurant at dinner. He spoke to me throughout most of this dinner.
During the conversation ... during the convention rather, there was also a lunch in which local high school students that had performed well in the industry were honored. Mr Cain sat next to me at that luncheon and spoke to me extensively. Mr Cain was the keynote speaker at the luncheon. He was incredibly inspirational. When he sat down, I said to him "When are you running for President?"
The final night of the conference, Mr Cain sat at a table with me and my boyfriend. He was warm and attentive to both of us and he invited us to join him in an after party in a sweet at the hotel, which we did. I felt very honored to be included in the select gathering.
About a month later, I was let go by the foundation. I was devastated. I loved the job and the industry, and in the short time that I had been there, I felt that we were really doing well in terms of fundraising.
My boyfriend suggested that I should reach out to Mr Cain to see if he might be able to help me find another job with the foundation or in some other capacity. He said "Herman seems to think highly of you. Why don't you contact him and see if you can ask him for some help?"
I did, I called Mr Cain's office and left a message for him. He called me back. I told him that I had been let go and he told me that he was unaware of it. I explained that I was going to be visiting my boyfriend's family and would be only a couple of hours by train from DC which is where the NRA had it's national office.
I asked if we could perhaps meet for coffee. He said that he would and that I should call once I had firmed up my dates and the arrangements.
My boyfriend, since I was unemployed, booked a room for me at the capital Hilton, and I called My Cain to let him know my arrival date and that I would be staying at the Capital Hilton. I asked him "Well, where do you want to meet?" and he suggested the lobby bar.
This was in mid-July 1997. I then took the train to Washington DC. When I checked into the room, I was shocked. I had a palacial sweet and the bellman ... I said to the bellman "There's got to be some mistake," but he insisted that there was no mistake. I later found out that Mr Cain had arranged for the sweet, so I thought at the time that maybe my boyfriend had tried to surprise me.
“I met Mr. Cain in the lobby of the bar at the Capitol Hilton at around 6:30 p.m. We had drinks at the hotel, and he asked how I liked my room, which is kind of normal, and I said I was very surprised. I said, I can't believe it, I've got this great suite, it’s gorgeous. Mr. Cain kind of smirked, and then said, ‘I upgraded you.’
“He then took me to an Italian restaurant where we had dinner. During dinner, Mr. Cain looked at me and said, ‘Why are you here?’ I said, ‘Actually, Herman, my boyfriend, whom you met, suggested that I meet with you ‘cause he thought you could help me because I really need a job. I was wondering if there's anything available at the state association level or perhaps if you could speak to someone at the foundation to try to get my job back, perhaps even in a different department.’ He said, ‘I'll look into that.’
“While we were driving back to the hotel, he said that he would show me where the National Restaurant Association offices were. He parked the car down the block. I thought that we were going to go into the offices so he that could show me around. At that time I had on a black pleated skirt, a suit jacket and a blouse. He had on a suit with his shirt open. But instead of going into the offices, he suddenly reached over and he put his hand on my leg under my skirt and reached for my genitals. He also grabbed my head and brought it toward his crotch. I was very, very surprised and very shocked.
“I said: ‘What are you doing? You know I have a boyfriend. This isn't what I came here for.’ Mr. Cain said, ‘You want a job, right?’
“I asked him to stop and he did. I asked him to take me back to my hotel which he did, right away.
“When I returned to New Jersey where I was staying..., I told my boyfriend Mr. Cain had been very sexually inappropriate with me, and shortly thereafter I told another friend of mine, who has been a mentor, the same thing. I didn't tell them the details because, quite frankly, I was very embarrassed that Mr. Cain had been sexually inappropriate to me.
“The last time that I saw Mr. Cain actually was about a month ago. I had been invited to the tea party conference sponsored by WIND Chicago radio in Chicago. I actually didn't know he was going to be there until the night before when my girlfriend told me.
“I went up to him and asked him, ‘Do you remember me?’ I guess I wanted to see if he was going to be man enough to own up to what he had done some 14 years ago. He acknowledged that he remembered me from the foundation, but he kind of looked uncomfortable and he said nothing, and he was whisked away for his speech by his handlers.
“During his speech he had that same infectious presence that we have come to know, and command as he did when I heard him speak for the first time 14 years ago at the NRA. As I sat there in the audience, I kept wondering to myself, has he done to other women what he had done to me, and whether anyone was going to speak up about it?
“I really hoped for his sake that and his candidacy that mine was an isolated incident and that he had not exhibited those behaviors with other women. I didn't file a complaint against Mr. Cain as some of the other women did because I wasn't employed by the foundation when this occurred.
“But now, I'm coming forward to give a face and a voice to those women who cannot, or for whatever reason do not wish to come forward, and on behalf of all women who are sexually harassed in the workplace but do not come [forward] out of fear of retaliation or public humiliation.
“I really didn't want to be here today and wouldn’t have been here if it had not been for the three other women who have alleged sexual harassment against Mr. Cain. I want you, Mr. Cain, to come clean. Just admit what you did. Admit you were inappropriate to people, and then move forward.
“America is in a horrible turmoil as we all know. We need a leader who can set an example which exemplifies the standards of a good person and moral character. Mr. Cain, I implore you, make this right so that you and the country can move forward and focus on the real issues at hand. Thank you.”

CNN Appearance

The day after the press conference, Gloria Allred and Sharon Bialek appeared on CNN and discussed the allegations being made against Herman Cain and counter-allegations made against them.

Outing of Karen Kraushaar

On the morning of Novermber 8, the Daily ran a story that exposed the identity of one of the women that filed a claim against Herman Cain while at the National Restaurant Association. The woman's name was Karen Kraushaar and she was a spokeswoman for the National Restaurant Association from 1998 to 1999.

After the settlement with the NRA, Kraushaar served as a spokeswoman for the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, the predecessor of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She was a chief spokeswoman during one of the agency’s most controversial immigration cases — the custody battle over Elian Gonzalez, a Cuban boy rescued at sea who was then held by Florida relatives against the will of his father in Cuba.

In 2003, Kraushaar was a communications specialist for the Tax Advocate Service, an independent arm within the Internal Revenue Service that helps impoverished taxpayers. Kraushaar now serves as a communications director at the Inspector General’s Office of the Treasury Department, a position she has held since 2010.

Monster

Maria Cardona, Kraushaar's former supervisor at the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), stated that she called Kraushaar when she learned her former employee was one of the women to accuse Herman Cain of harassment. Cardona stated that Kraushaar told her that she was grateful to her for saving her from "that monster."

Other Allegations

While working for the INS in 2002, Mrs Kraushaar was in a car wreck and asked to work from home. She was denied this request and according to former supervisors, she had previously been denied similar requests. In response to this denial, Mrs Krasshaar filed a complaint with the same lawyer that won the $35,000 severance package for her in the Cain case.

To settle the complaint at the immigration service, Kraushaar initially demanded thousands of dollars in payment, a reinstatement of leave she used after the accident earlier in 2002, promotion on the federal pay scale and a one-year fellowship to Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, according to a former supervisor familiar with the complaint. The promotion itself would have increased her annual salary between $12,000 and $16,000, according to salary tables in 2002 from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. (text taken from AP)

Kraushaar stated that she felt the complaint was "relatively minor" and she left the INS in 2003 shortly after the matter was resolved. However, working at home was not the only issue discussed in the complaint. Mrs Kraushaar also complained about a sexist email that had been sent at work. The content of that email is shown below and does not seem to target Mrs Kraushaar specifically.

Computers are Like Men…And Women…
From e-mail forward…
Computers are Like Men…
In order to get their attention, you have to turn them on.
They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they are the problem.
They have a lot of data but are still clueless.
As soon as you commit to one, you realize that, if you had waited a little longer you could have had a better model.
They hear what you say, but not what you mean.
Computers are Like Women…
No one but the Creator understands their internal logic.
The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else.
Even your smallest mistakes are stored in long-term memory for later retrieval.
As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.
You do the same thing for years, and suddenly it’s wrong.

Press Conference in Response

On November 8, 2011 Herman Cain gave a press conference to address the accusations. During the conference, Mr Cain stated that he had never seen Mrs Bialek prior to the press conference the following day. He rejects the charges aganist him and states that they simpy didn't happen.

He also states that the Democrat machine had brought forth a troubled woman to make false allegations that exceed common sense and a sense of decency. When asked if he would take a lie detector test, Hermain Cain stated that he would be willing to take a lie detector test, but that it would not be necessary.

He was asked about Karen Kraushaar coming forward and he stated that her accusations were found to be baseless and no one was found to corroborate her story.

References

[1] Website: Politico.com Article: Herman Cain accused by two women of inappropriate behavior Author: JONATHAN MARTIN & MAGGIE HABERMAN & ANNA PALMER & KENNETH P. VOGEL Accessed on: 11/03/2011

[2] Website: News Radio 100 KTRK Article: Oklahoma Consultant Claims He Witnessed Cain Harassment Author: Jerry Bohnen Accessed on: 11/03/2011

[3] Website: BBC Article: Third woman claims inappropriate behaviour from Cain Author: NA Accessed on: 11/03/2011

[4] Website: Forbes.com Article: Cain Says Perry Camp Behind Sex Harassment Leak Author: Richard Miniter Accessed on: 11/03/2011

[5] Website: Syracuse.com Article: AP Exclusive: A third woman says Herman Cain harassed her Author: AP Accessed on: 11/03/2011

[6] Website: CBS News Article: Karen Kraushaar called Cain a "monster," her former supervisor says Author: Stephanie Condon Accessed on: 11/10/2011

[7] Website: Mediaite Article: AP Reports Herman Cain Accuser Karen Kraushaar Made Complaint On Later Job Author: Tommy Christopher Accessed on: 11/10/2011

[8] Website: The Daily Article: �SHE IS VERY RELIABLE� Author: M.L. Nestel and Deborah Hastings Accessed on: 11/10/2011

[9] Website: SandraRose.com Article: Cain Accuser Works for the Obama Administration Author: NA Accessed on: 11/10/2011

[10] Website: New York Post Article: One woman who accused Cain of sexual harassment now works for Obama Author: AP Accessed on: 11/10/2011