Sharon Bialek, a woman employed by the National Restaurant Association’s Educational Foundation in the late 90s, accused Herman Cain of inappropriate sexual contact today in a press conference with celebrity attorney Gloria Allred.
Bialek said she first met Cain when employed by the NRA as a manager of industry relations. She lost her job there shortly thereafter, and at her boyfriend’s suggestion, arranged to meet Cain in D.C. over coffee in 1997 to discuss her career. She told Cain what hotel she would be staying at; when she arrived, she had been upgraded to a suite, which she later found out had been through his doing, although she says she was not aware of that at the time. Cain also switched their meeting to a restaurant. After eating, Bialek said the two drove over to the National Restaurant Association headquarters; she assumed he would show her the offices.
“He suddenly reached over and he put his hand on my leg, under my skirt, and reached for my genitals,” said Bialek of what happened next. “He also grabbed my head and brought it towards 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.”
Bialek said she told her boyfriend and another friend that Cain had been “sexually inappropriate” to her at the time, but said she had not detailed what occurred.
Bialek, identified by Allred as a registered Republican, said she saw Cain again about a month ago at a Tea Party conference in the Chicago area. She asked him if he remembered her. “He acknowledged that he remembered me from the foundation, but he kind of looked uncomfortable,” Bialek said. “He said nothing as he was whisked away for his speech by his handlers.”
As noted, before the press conference began, the Cain campaign put out a statement saying the allegations were “completely false.”
At this time, Bialek does not intend to go forward with a lawsuit against Cain.
Katrina, do you believe the accuser or no? Will you hide behind the impartial mantle of journalist and just pass on the information from the circus up there in New York?
I think Cain should sue Bialek, if he is innocent of these charges, and go after her for slander. Might as well show some teeth.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe allegations are about what happened between two people when they were alone. It is he-says-she-says case.
Suing accuser will become a mud-wrestling for Cain for the next 2 years even if he will win it and this is precisely what Obama camp wants.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIf you want to believe the accuser, you will. If you want to believe Cain, you will. It's no more complicated than that.
I've felt foolish mounting knee-jerk defenses of Repbulicans accused of behaving badly who turned out to be guilty later, so I won't do it in this case. But this accomplished exactly what it was intended to: plant an "if there's this much smoke, there must be fire" seed in the minds of voters.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseActually, I think it is a little more complicated.
Some people actually weigh the credibility of the evidence presented and make up their mind accordingly.
Herman Cain's story has been consistently shifting. This woman told her story and hasn't sought any money for it.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI'd call it a complete unknown whether money is changing hands or not. If you're referring to years ago when it allegedly happened, there's another way of interpreting a lack of a settlement: There can't be a settlement if there's no complaint. There was no complaint filed, either because her account here is a gross exaggeration, or nothing happened in the first place.
Now, that scenario is no less plausible than Cain being guilty.
And you can bet if Gloria Allred is in the room, there's money involved in some way! Allred makes her living from publicity as much actual legal work. Allred may be paying the woman for the story, a political operative may be paying the woman, or some combination thereof.
But again, most people will see this story through political lenses of their choice.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe lawyer started off by saying the Sharon Bialek is a registered republican. The Illinois State Board of Elections says otherwise:
External Link
Her zip code is 60611. Site says her registration is inactive.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseShe certainly votes in an upscale neighborhood.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseBialek said she told her boyfriend and another friend that Cain had been “sexually inappropriate” to her at the time, but said she had not detailed what occurred.
And they didn't ask? She didn't even tell her boyfriend? Why?
At this time, Bialek does not intend to go forward with a lawsuit against Cain.
And what exactly would she sue him for if she did go forward with a lawsuit?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseExactly. You named 1 of the 3 things that jumped out at me. (The third bothersome thing being how difficult it would have been to grope her goodies while pushing her down head toward your goodies in a car.)
I will pass on accepting the Jezebel version of the story as a reason to disbelieve Cain's version.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"I will pass on accepting the Jezebel version ...
What a pathetic comment. Low. Really, really low.
You should be ashamed of yourself.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI don't know... I was kinda thinking the same exact thing concerning the sheer "practicality" of supposedly trying to get to... er... "third base" with one hand while with the other hand supposedly trying to force a full-grown woman's head down to your lap...
(*SHRUG*)
What was the driver doing while this was going on? Was this in the back of a limo or a town car?
And then she calmly asks her alleged molester to take her home - in the same car... with him in the same car taking the ride with her...???
Seriously... there's hitting on a woman... there's flirting with a woman... but we're talking actual molestation if this chick's version is even close to the truth.
Why wouldn't she flee - at least flee the car... flag down a taxi... call the police...
(*SHRUG*)
Oh... and btw... why tell him you're staying at a hotel? It's not like this was a formal job interview where a candidate is asked to come and expenses are paid for. Why would where she was staying even come up - and even if he asked her, why wouldn't she just say she was staying with a friend instead of telling him she was staying alone at a hotel?
Listen... this chick's story just doesn't ring true. It's as simple as that.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIndeed, were you not one of the commenters over the past week who said you couldn't believe the other allegations, because they were anonymous and so vague?
Now there's a real person who gives her name and provides a great level of detail about what happened to her . . . and you call her a vile name.
Sadly, it's because of people like you that a lot of women won't go public with their experiences.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI'm sorry, you don't have to be a Herman Cain supporter to recognize this for what it is--a pizza without cheese, sauce, or crust. The accuser is. a "registered republican,"natch. I confess I almost believed it right up to the point where Cain supposedly said "You want a job, right?" It sounds like what the actor playing a sexual harasser in a school video about sexual harassment would say, No sale.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse23 minutes after printing Cain's denial, you guys huddle and decide you had better publish the substance of the accusations?
Shows where your collective heads are at. And you accuse the mainstream media of bias?
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse33. worse.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseGive me a break. This isn't breaking, it's garbage. An ambulance chaser lawyer and a story 15 years old(not documented). this doesn't pass the smell test.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseNRO doesn't claim to be non-partisan...silly comparison.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThere's a difference between partisan and being so hopelessly biased, you ought to assume you're being hoodwinked instead of reading legitimate political commentary. This was so bass-ackward.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseSince your opinion of the writers and readers of NRO is so pathetically low, one does wonder what you're doing here, other than insulting your own allegedly superior intellect.
That's why you hang around its online forums?
To think they've been sheltering Cain through this story renders you far more of a partisan hack than anyone at NRO.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIf you really are trying to put forth the idea that NRO has been sheltering Cain from accusations, I suggest you try another tactic. Your current one is laughable.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse