Joel Bennett, the attorney for one of the woman who accused Herman Cain of sexual harassment while he was CEO of the National Restaurant Association, says that a second woman contacted him to explore the possibility of suing Cain on similar grounds before deciding against it.
“[She said] that she was sexually harassed by Herman Cain when she worked at NRA,” he told TPM. “I called her back and she said she decided not to pursue it.”
A third unnamed woman told the AP this week that she was harassed by Cain while working at the NRA, but ultimately decided against filing a complaint at the time. Bennett said he didn’t know if the two woman were the same person.
Bennett told reporters on Friday that his client, who filed a complaint and reached a settlement with the NRA, didn’t want to go through the painful process of retelling her story even as she stood by her claim. But he added that the existence of other accusers was a telltale sign regarding Cain’s behavior.
“There’s an expression where there’s smoke, there’s fire,” he said. “The fact that there are multiple complaints tells me it’s more likely than not that there was some sexual harassment activity by this man at that time.”
Asked if Cain’s continued denials could convince his client to come public later on, Bennett told TPM he had “no reason to believe she’d change her mind” but that he wouldn’t rule anything out.
