Cain did not sign settlement, accuser's lawyer says

Herman Cain

UPDATED 11:24 a.m. ET

The settlement agreement between the National Restaurant Association and a woman who accused Herman Cain of sexual harassment was reached in September 1999--and was not signed by Cain himself, according to Joel Bennett, a lawyer for the woman.

Bennett, who has a copy of the settlement agreement, said four people signed it: the woman, two lawyers representing the association and Bennett himself.

Bennett said the agreement was resolved relatively quickly, about two or three months after she complained.

That means it may have been reached after Cain left the association, and Bennett said it's conceivable that Cain didn't even know about it.

Bennett also told CBS News Friday morning he is hoping to issue a public statement reaffirming the accuser's claim within hours, if the restaurant group agrees to ease the confidentiality agreement that was part of the deal.

Bennett plans to issue the statement in his name, not in his client's name. It will not identify her, nor will it detail specific events of sexual harassment or the amount of settlement.

"It will insist the complaints were in good faith, and she's going to stand by her complaints," Bennett told CBS News. "It's her response to Herman Cain's statements that the complaints are baseless."

Cain left the association June 30, 1999, according to the NRA. Under that timeline, Cain would have been gone when the settlement was reached--and may well have been gone when she filed the complaint.

Cain has insisted he only knew of one complaint, and says he knew of no legal settlements--only what he calls a severance agreement with one woman. This timeline could well bolster his claims.

When Cain ran to represent Georgia in the Senate four years later, he told his advisers there was one complaint against him at the Restaurant Association, and that it was "baseless." One former staffer on the Senate campaign told CBS News that he and other advisers in the campaign knew about that complaint and believed it was meritless, but thought it could crop up in possible opposition research.

[51packard]

Really???
Even if the accusations were legit, wouldn't this appeal to Dems who don't have problems with their Prez. staining dresses in the Oval Office...Or flavoring cigars with an Intern??
Why don't we talk about JOBS?
ITS ABOUT THE ECONOMY STUPID(s)!!!!
Not 10 year old non-news!

[I-C-Warming]

Cain was gone by the time the agreement was signed? Why did he leave even before the association had to pay off these women? Let me spell it out....Was he fired?

[gangstalook1]

Every Male should be concerned about this;If Cain had left the company and didn't even know about the complaint why did the company pay anything? This is like "Character Assassination". Do companies just pay people and not bring the MALES in to defend themselves or investigate?Women can just make any claims bitter,scorned or just lying, the company is at fault not Cain...

[no1netfan573]

Well who's next? Have they got someone else to run on this ticket.Hey,there is still Ron Paul.

[kcsteak2]

Hey Bennett, then explain how Herman Cain broke an agreement that he didn't sign? This smells rotten to the core.

[robotnik_p]

Yep. And she says she "will stand behind" her allegations, yet not defend them by coming out. How does that work? Would you expect her, after receiving a payout to say that she'll return the dough? Her lawyer has already broken her end of the confidentiality agreement, being her hired mouthpiece, so should she have to give the money back to the NRA? Cain didn't sign it? then how is he a party to it? It looks like she took the NRA for a ride. Nice scam.

[mindlesszombies]

Why has nobody considered the fact that this was a black man in a top position in the 90's. It is very conceivable that people a could see this as an opportunity to make some quick cash. Without details of who these women are and the ability to look into these women's backgrounds its nothing but unfounded garbage! Have these women pulled this before or after? What kind of people were/are these women?

[VictorAshesLoveChild]

You fool, they signed confidentiality agreements.

[Dreadnut]

The story is either salacious, or it's boring..........sorry, after a week of alot of nothing, it's going down the boring path.

[Allan_Yackey]

"It will insist the complaints were in good faith"

There are individuals who have "problems" and think that they hear threatening voices. When they report those threats to a medical professional, any lawyer can make the same comment about them. It doesn't make the voices real.

By the way,do you know who was the first black president of the National Restaurant Association? Could the reported allegations have any relationship to the answer to the above question? Just asking.

[OnTheCrown]

There is more to this. This is not going away.

[doneinone]

that's right, Politico 90 Cain smear stories in 5 days.....pathetic

[andrew0111]

Isn't this a lot like the Duke Lacrosse case? The media ruins a persons reputation before we even know what the man is accused of. We all know that sexual harrasment can mean simply walking by a left wing woman.

[nancy_naive]

No, not at all. The DA in the Duke case lied about what the complaitant said, and about the existance of evidence.

Here, all of the evidence is held under a civil agreement. The ONLY person giving the details is Cain.