The embattled Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain has insisted he is not planning to pull out of the race despite a second woman coming forward to abandon anonymity and publicly accuse him of sexual harassment.
The woman, Karen Kraushaar, a 55-year-old treasury official, said she wanted all four women making sexual harassment allegations to hold a joint press conference.
Cain held a press conference in Scottsdale, Arizona, denying the allegations, in particular seamy details offered by Sharon Bialek, who accused him of forcing himself on her in a car in Washington.
He said he did not remember either Bialek or the alleged incident. "I did not recognise the name, the face, the voice," he said.
He faces an awkward event on Wednesday night: a nationally televised presidential debate in which he can only hope his rivals will not seek to exploit the allegations on air. After a week of silence, his Republican opponents have begun to raise the issue.
Cain denies all allegations made by Bialek and Kraushaar, as well as two other women, who have so far opted to remain anonymous.
"The charges and accusations I absolutely reject. They simply didn't happen. They simply did not happen," he said. » | Ewen MacAskill in Washington | Wednesday, November 09, 2011
Related »
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Herman Cain is a monster, says second woman: A second woman who claims she was sexually harassed by Herman Cain identified herself last night, as the Republican presidential hopeful said he would undergo a lie detector test to prove his innocence. » | Jon Swaine, Washington | Wednesday, November 09, 2011
