Arnold Grope Allegations Resurface

As Arnold Schwarzenegger prepared to capitalize on his lead in polls by blitzing the state with campaign events, fresh allegations surfaced that he sexually harassed women in the past.

Six women — including a British television host — accused the Republican action star in interviews with the Los Angeles Times of groping them on movie sets and in other settings over the last three decades, the newspaper reported in Thursday editions.

Schwarzenegger spokesman Sean Walsh denied the allegations in comments to the Times, saying the actor had not engaged in improper conduct toward women. Walsh said the claims were a political attack in the days leading up to the Oct. 7 election.

"We believe Democrats and others are using this to try to hurt Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign," Walsh said. "We believe that this is coming so close before the election, something that discourages good, hard-working, decent people from running for office."

It's not a total surprise, reports CBS News Correspondent Steve Futterman: Schwarzenegger aides have been prepared for this type of article for some time. Throughout the campaign they have been asked about allegations and whispers concerning Schwarzenegger's behavior towards women, and Schwarzenegger himself has said he expected negative stories about his personal life.

The allegations come as momentum has been building for the Schwarzenegger camp, with a new poll showing the actor with a big lead over all other candidates.

In a show of confidence Wednesday, Schwarzenegger offered a blueprint for his first 100 days in office, repeating promises to repeal the tripling of the state car tax and to have the budget audited.

"We are ready to take office," he told a crowd of about 400 supporters. "We are ready to take action. We are ready to return California to the people."

Gov. Gray Davis' campaign spokesman, Peter Ragone, countered that it was a mistake for Schwarzenegger to "start measuring the drapes in the offices of the Capitol."

Davis appeared Wednesday with retired Gen. Wesley Clark, a presidential candidate and the latest high-profile Democrat to visit California in support of the governor.

He later appeared with his newest convert, independent Arianna Huffington, who dropped out of the race Tuesday but promised to work with Davis to defeat the recall and keep Schwarzenegger out of office.

At the event with Clark outside a firehouse museum, Davis used his most direct language yet to cast the recall as a choice between himself and Schwarzenegger.

"We have to speak to independents and Democrats in blunt terms," he said. "They have one choice. Unite to defeat this recall and stop Mr. Schwarzenegger or face the prospect that Mr. Schwarzenegger will be governor."

Schwarzenegger was set to embark Thursday on a four-day barnstorming tour that starts in San Diego, takes him up through the Bay Area, and is to culminate in a march on the Capitol on Sunday.

The bus tour will heavily advertise the candidate's Hollywood ties. Schwarzenegger will be riding on a bus nicknamed Running Man, the campaign staff on Total Recall, and the press on buses nicknamed Predator 1 through 3 and True Lies.

Walsh said Schwarzenegger would not comment on the sexual misconduct allegations in the Times. Contacted late Wednesday by The Associated Press, Schwarzenegger spokesman Todd Harris said: "We stand by our comments which were published in the story." He declined further comment.

The Times said it interviewed the women over the last seven weeks during an investigation into whether Schwarzenegger harassed women. None of the women approached the newspaper on her own or has filed legal action against the actor.

Two of the women allowed their names to be used; four spoke on condition of anonymity.

E. Laine Stockton told the Times she was groped by Schwarzenegger in 1975 at Gold's Gym in Venice Beach. Then 19, Stockton claimed the bodybuilder came up from behind her and reached under her T-shirt to grab her breast, and then silently walked away.

"I was just shocked, shocked to the point where I almost didn't know how to react, because it was so out of the blue and so unexpected," she told the newspaper.

Anna Richardson, a British television host, said Schwarzenegger touched her breast when she was interviewing him in 2000 on a promotional tour for "The Sixth Day." Richardson, who previously told Premiere magazine about the alleged incident, was accused by a Hollywood publicist then working with Schwarzenegger of fabricating the story.

Others interviewed included two crew members working in 1990 on "Terminator 2: Judgment Day." One woman, now 41, said Schwarzenegger groped her at least three times in an elevator at the hotel where the cast and crew was staying.

The other woman, now in her 30s, said Schwarzenegger pulled her into his lap and whispered vulgarities while other men watched, smiling.

Three of the women who spoke on condition of anonymity said being named could jeopardize their careers; the fourth feared public ridicule or harm to her husband's business.

Schwarzenegger's alleged past indiscretions have been an issue in the campaign since he announced his bid for governor. Much of the controversy has surrounded a 1977 interview in Oui magazine in which Schwarzenegger recalled engaging in group sex at Gold's Gym. The actor has said he doesn't remember the incident.

At Wednesday's campaign event, Schwarzenegger promised that he would repeal the tripling of the state car tax on his first day in office, then move to have the state budget audited and call a special session of the Legislature to deal with spending cuts.