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Sharon Bialek, the first woman to publicly accuse Herman Cain of sexual misconduct, today acknowledged she has experienced financial and legal difficulties in recent years, but said they were “absolutely not” related to her decision to come forward and detail her encounter with Cain in a car outside a Washington hotel fourteen years ago.
But Cain’s campaign signaled today they will seek to undermine Bialek’s credibility by highlighting her legal troubles and the Democratic Party ties of her lawyer, Gloria Allred. An NBC News review of court records show that Bialek’s legal problems include two personal bankruptcies, an Internal Revenue Service tax lien, and a civil judgment against her last year for an unpaid loan that is still outstanding.
“Absolutely not,” Bialek said when asked by NBC News Today show co-anchor Ann Curry whether her financial problems caused her to come forward and make accusations against Cain in hopes of making money. “There’s no skeletons in my closet. I told her [her lawyer Gloria Allred] 'this may come up.' I expected this may come up. It's not about me. I’m not running for president.”
Bialek, a single mother with a 13-year-old son, also denied that anybody from any rival campaign encouraged her to speak out against Cain in an effort to damage his candidacy. “I came forward of my own volition,” she said. In a separate interview on CNN, she said her son did encourage her to speak out. “You need to tell on him,” she quoted her son as saying.
Bialek’s comments came just hours after Cain flatly denied her graphic account that he sexually groped her and sought to have oral sex when the two met in Washington in 1997, telling TV host Jimmy Kimmel her story was “totally fabricated.” In a statement e-mailed to reporters, Cain spokesman JD Gordon described Allred, Bialek's lawyer, as a "high profile Democratic Party donor and activist." He added: "After attacking Herman Cain through anonymous accusers for a week, his opponents have now convinced a woman with a long history of severe financial difficulties, including personal bankruptcy, to falsely accuse the Republican frontrunner of events allegedly occurring well over a decade ago for which there is no record, nor even a complaint filed." (In a press release late Tuesday morning entitled "Who is Sharon Bialek?" the campaign gave the case numbers for six civil lawsuits in which Bialek was sued as well as her two bankruptcies. It also cited a press report indicating that she has worked for nine employers over the last seventeen years).
Cain has scheduled a press conference to rebut Bialek’s claims on Tuesday, signaling that the controversy over sexual harassment allegations -- which Cain’s campaign had hoped to put to rest last week -- is unlikely to end anytime soon.
The dueling accounts underscore the difficulties in sorting through politically charged sexual harassment allegations in which partisans on both sides seek to impugn the character of the principals with whatever evidence they can find.
Bialek dramatically raised the stakes for Cain on Monday by becoming the first woman to publicly speak out. News reports last week identified three other unidentified women at the National Restaurant Association who had made unspecified sexual allegations against Cain, two of whom received financial settlements with no findings of liability. Bialek detailed an encounter that she says took place in 1997 after she was let go from her job after six months as a National Restaurant Association foundation fundraiser. Seeking Cain’s help in finding new employment or getting her job back, she described how Cain -- then the president of the National Restaurant Association -- booked her a Washington hotel suite and took her out to dinner. While the two were alone in the car, Bialek says Cain put his hand up her skirt and then sought to have oral sex, telling her, “You want a job, right?”
Allred, who frequently represents accusers in celebrity cases, told reporters on Monday that she had sworn affidavits from two others -- one from a doctor who was Bialek’s boyfriend at the time and the other from a businessman -- who affirm that Bialek told them about an encounter with Cain shortly after it took place. But Allred has declined to release their names -- making it impossible at this point to verify her account-- and Bialek acknowledged Monday that she did not share details with them of what Cain had allegedly done in the car.
Bialek also did not describe her encounter with Cain to her current boyfriend, Mark Harwood, with whom she lives in suburban Chicago. In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, Harwood was quoted as saying he was in “a bit of shock” when Bialek first told her about her experience with Cain last Friday night, but that he admired her decision to come forward.
“Its not an anti-political thing,” Harwood said. “It’s not a money thing. She’s just trying to do the right thing and that takes guts.”
Court records show that Bialek filed for bankruptcy in 1991 and 2001. She was also involved in protracted domestic relations litigation starting in 1999 with a marketing executive at News America Marketing, a division of News Corp., over questions of paternity and child support for her now 13 year old son. Court records show that the marketing executive was ordered to pay child support that in 2010 was $66,700 a year.
More recently, the records show, the IRS filed a tax lien of nearly $5,200 against Bialek in 2009. (According to the Chicago Tribune account, the Illinois Department of Revenue has also claimed Bialek owed the state $4,300 in unpaid taxes, penalties and interest.) Last year, an Illinois lending company filed a lawsuit against Bialek for an upaid ($3,539) loan and won a judgment against her of $3,539. The lawyer for the lender, Illinois Lending Corp., told NBC it was a standard “breach of contract” lawsuit and that the judgment is still outstanding.
Allred told reporters that Bialek has not had a job in about two years. Harwood, her boyfriend, told the Trbuine that the couple met online and moved in four years ago, getting engaged during a vacation in Venice last year.
“Sharon is very much one of these women with a huge heart and always trying to do the right thing,” he said. “Sometimes, I have to pull the reins in.”
Susan Bialek, the fourth woman to come forward and accuse GOP presidential hopeful Herman Cain of sexual harassment, tells TODAY's Ann Curry why she waited 14 years to come forward and says her decision to do so was not financially motivated.
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DId she happen to name her son "Paycheck"?
This is the GOP: Hermmie is a find up standing citizen. Person 1 - Hermmie sexual harassed me. Hermmie is a find up standing citizen. Person 2 - Hermmie sexual harassed me. Hermmie is a find up standing citizen. Person 3 - Hermmie sexual harassed me. Hermmie is a find up standing citizen. Person 4 - Hermmie sexual harassed me. Well dam Hermmie when are you going to stop grabbing women asses?
Where was Gloria Allred for Clinton's sexually harrassed ladies before he was elected.....these were dismissed as "trailor trash"
Where was Gloria Allred for Clinton's sexually harrassed ladies before he was elected.....these were dismissed as "trailor trash"
This is the GOP: Hermmie is a find up standing citizen. Person 1 - Hermmie sexual harassed me. Hermmie is a find up standing citizen. Person 2 - Hermmie sexual harassed me. Hermmie is a find up standing citizen. Person 3 - Hermmie sexual harassed me. Hermmie is a find up standing citizen. Person 4 - Hermmie sexual harassed me. Well dam Hermmie when are you going to stop grabbing women asses?
She said to herman:
"I have a boyfriend already"
So I guess if she didn't have a boyfriend, she would be fine with the act!
Those type of women love rich black guys!
So it is okay that he cheats on his wife? Where are the Republican morals?
Herman Cain is a predator. He is dangerous to women, a liar and, as usual, thinks his corporate status entitles him to grope and screw whomever he pleases, no matter the color. Too many times, too many corporate honcho's who think it is a man's only world, prey on women and then deny, deny, deny!!! He needs to be taken down several notches, left out to dry!! I hope he is politically and corporately destroyed!! In my book, he is a sleazebag!!
He is almost as much of a predator as Bill Clinton was
He is almost as much of a predator as Bill Clinton was
This attack is completely driven by the racists on the left
@No means No
FixNews Troll
Koch Brothers Troll
Crazy Troll
Great, what any mother would do, discuss oral sex encounters with her 13 year old son.
Where there is smoke there is fire. If it were only one women or even two, it could be a mistake. But now there are 4. In addition why would you pay someone off if you are innocent.
Haven't we all seen this before. I'll bet the truth will come out before December 1...............he is guilty.
Ok Michael, so by your theory, we only need to find 4 people to accuse BHO of the same, and then it becomes fact right? Of course we will need to find 4 people who actually were near him and have an axe to grind against him.... Maybe someone he terminated as a Boss, or something like that..(Follow me, it is just a story. I know as well as anyone BHO has no business experience. He has proved that) Or maybe someone passed over for a promotion, of someone who felt slighted by him for one reason or another...
And Cain had no say in whether the people got paid. HE didnt pay them. He was not party to it. It was an internal issue with the HR depatment. And it is common for payouts when you can pay an amount smaller than the cost to litigate the situation, even if they know the claim to be false.
Just because there are 4 now, means nothing. Think about it. How many bosses in major positions are loved by all? How many people who just dont like them? And if you were going to file a claim of harassment, usually aiming for a powerfull person is the quickest way to get a quick settlement and be on your way. Companies HATE to have gossip about the management. So they are likely to do a quick pay and push you out to keep it quiet, even if it had no basis.
But hey, this is what a resonable person may believe. I do not know one way or the other, as I was not there. Obvioulsy you were. And obviously you have a lower threshold of what it takes to prove guilt.
But he was never convicted of anything. There has been no indication of guilt from the initial complaints filed, and if there were proveable offenses, the payout would not have been the pittance they were. And the payout made no assumption of the validity of the claims nor was an admission of wrongdoing. And this 4th gal has no credibility and there is absolutely no proof of anything here either.
So basically you have mutiple people accusing him. There is no proof of anything thus far. But he is obviously guilty in your book based on this.
It is not like the media was not begging for people to come out of the woodwork. The fact they could only find this gal is what I find surprising.... After all, begging for someone to come forward for instant fame and potential riches down the road usually would bring out more. And if you have a vested interest in damaging the person, the truth becomes secondary......
ABO 2012
@dsdsherm
"And Cain had no say in whether the people got paid. HE didnt pay them."
Wrong the CEO is in charge of the company period and his name is on the check.
@dsdsherm
You can say or convince yourself that this is a left wing thing. But you can't convince your self why he was accused by 4 women.
Then ask yourself this question have you been accused of sexual harassment by 4 women while you were married. Plus two of the four woman got hush money?
If the answer is no welcome to the normal side.
If your answer is this is President Obama's fault or the lame media fault - you are experiencing brainwash turned on 200% = Cain math.
If she got the job, would she have reported the incident?
I'm am just glad a Republican man is attempting to have sex with a WOMEN this time.
You people try to look for flaws in a story so hard that you disregard the indisputable facts.
1)The NRA's look into the allegations prompted them to settle this out of court rather than have the facts slung around publicly.
2)On another occasion they moved towards a settlement to avoid charges from being filed.
3)Whatever this first woman's present financial circumstances, it doesn't change the facts from years before. Weather she's motivated to do anything now or not is irrelevant. It doesn't change history.
4)If Cain was to somehow win the presidency and then this story came out, you would question why this hadn't come out early in his campaign if there were any truth to it. Yet, when that's exactly what happens (and probably would have been much sooner if it weren't for the conditions of the settlement that prevent them from talking about this), you people still are in denial.
Forget the so called liberal media. You people on the right don't want to hear any truths that go against what you would rather believe in.
Forget the so called liberal media. You people on the right don't want to hear any truths that go against what you would rather believe in.
How about waiting for the results of an investigation? If there is going to be one. You lefties hate the fact that there even is such a person that is black, conservative, successful and is a viable GOP presidential candidate. He breaks all your preconceived notions that all blacks are victims and need all those Great Society programs in order to succeed. The racism of the old democrat south still runs deep in today's democrats....you just try to hide it differently.
I'm African American that statement is an insult to every African American in the United States and you should apologize.
He is a disgrace to the African American Community. Ask a black person any black person that you think is left nor right. You will get the same answer "I will vote for President Obama"
I hope i did not crush your dreams of Co-Cain getting or spliting the black vote. Not going to happen.
He is making stupid ignorant
You obviously don't know anything outside what your right-wing leaders want you to believe. African Americans use to vote heavily republican when they believed they were the same progressive party that, as you right-wingers like to point out, fought for an end to slavery. But the republican party is no longer the progressive liberal party it was in days past. The same way the democratic party is no longer the party of conservatives. The problem with Cain (well the biggest out of a long list) is that he's ignorant as fu*% and a fu*#ing embarrassment. Just because so many of you on the right can throw support behind any buffoon that says stuff you like to hear, regardless of how unrealistic or inaccurate it is, some of us expect a higher degree of intelligence and professionalism from our candidates. Fly his ass over to Ubecky-becky-becky-becky-stan-stan and leave him there.
She is as credible as Paula Jones, this is as much of a non issue as it was for Bill Clinton.
Full disclosure here, I am a conservative and I think that where there is smoke there is fire. From the limited information out so far I do think something went on. I have also said and posted on similar stories in the past that when these stories come out, especially when proved that the politician involved should be removed from office. I have posted the same thing when the politician was a democrat or republican. I'm always amazed that when accusations come out you can predict the responses based on party affiliation. Democrats will defend a democrat and crucify a republican regardless and republicans will defend a republican and crucify and democrat regardless. The use of these stories as political ammunition is disgusting. Right is right and wrong is wrong regardless of affiliation. It is similar to cries of racism if someone disagrees with your point of view. Eventually racism, sexual predation, misuse of funds etc. become nothing more than words that people ignore because people throw them out for political reasons.
Just curious,how did Herman do this grouping without this lady cooperating by opening out her legs and thighs, l suppose that for Cain to penetrate to the point she said he did just shutting the gate by closing her legs will deny Cain getting to her clitoris unless she cooperated some how. after all she was sitting on the passenger side of the vehicle. First he touched her legs/thighs and then inside through her legs. Did Herman use his left or right hands and how could he do that. If the lady was not expecting it, she will be startled/jolted and instantaneously shut her legs before Cain can reach where she said he reached unless she had no under wears and a gaping short skirt for that matter. Just being curios, have your say.
Cain should have come clean from the get go, even if the claims against him were bogus. He should have been upfront with the voters and disclosed this nonsense, then it would be a non-issue. The blame lies squarely on Cain for trying to hide these skeletons in the closet, hoping that they would come out. Instead, he is going on full-attack mode against ALL the women making harassment claims. So this one has financial problems -- big deal. That does not automatically mean she is lying. I just find it ironic that there are so many women claiming harassment by this one man. It looks bad and sounds like he is a skirt-chasing womanizer who cannot control himself.
These sexual harrassment allegations have convinced me. I can no longer support Herman Cain for president. Throwing my vote for the CEO of Chuck E Cheese
So, for Bill Clinton with Paula Jones, Kathleen Willey, and Juanita Broaddrick the "unfounded" allegations were simply dismissed by the press but for Herman Cain they are leading stories day in and day out. And the media wonder why they have lost so much credibility.
She didn't disclose this to her adult boyfriend but her 13 year old son was aware of it and told her she should "tell on him"?
Bialek is a real piece of crap but, everybody knew that after watching the "press conference".
The more dangerous issue here is that Gloria Allred is many times more dangerous than the bimbo she represents. The women that truly were assaulted do not need misrepresentation by an idiot lawyer who does not have any morals. Shame on both of those useless pieces of human manure.
Sharon Bialek lives in the same building as David Axelrod in Shytown. His law firm represents her for an outstanding debt
See below
https://w3.courtlink.lexisnexis.com/cookcounty/Finddock.asp?DocketKey=CAAJ0MB0BFIICG0MD
Now do you think there is no Dem involvement??
GYPSY, I'm sure any liberal dem will tell you that's purely a coincidence! "She's coming forward for all the women out there....." Her payoff and who paid her will surface eventually. Maybe when she pays off her debts and is in a new Lexus she'll be seen for what she is.
ah, another middle aged bimbo arrived to save the day and besmirch the reputation of a good American businessman... this woman and her headline grabbing attorney deserve page thirty-two gutter side newspaper coverage. I am surprised thought that it took this long of for good ole GLORIA to jump into the fray....when will anyone learn about her??
I hope T-Party/Republicans nominee Herman Cain, I'd love to see God fear Christians right wings Evangelical defend Cain in general elections.
My sympathy for Cain vanished after he changes ihs story 4 times in one day. Saying , he didn't think there was a settlement, then "I hope they didn't pay any money" and then finally onfox news cooly walking through the conversaotions with the lawyer retained thethe association and the sttlements..and deliberately mischaractersize each one.
Since then other have come foward-most notably the lawyer for the woman who streesed it was a sex harassment settlement and not a severance one and the documents so stated. Attorneys don't lie about documents they sign.
Clearly Cain has lot sof explaining to do. And there is more dating back to his days at Pillsbury. Thosefoplks are reluctantto talkbecause the events are now so onld. But there is a patter nhere that has "sexual predator"written all over it. I still don't think he is a sex predator-I thinkit is a behaviour pattern of people who are drunk wit hpower. It manifests itself in the "don't speak unless soken to attitude" and carries forth to other thngs.
Helike likable-and even the woman who spoke yesterday clearly admires him-and worse yet,probably vote for him. this was no "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned". This was a womanly "fess up" encouragement genmtly done.
This women didn't have to put her self in the line of fire. She could have sat silently by. Instead she took courageto articulate the voicelles complaints of other vitims-volunteer to be their voice. It doesn't get better than that.
Accusations without evidence are meaningless. That's the way our system of justice works. Thousands of people have accused Obama of being a Muslim and a Communist. In neither case do accusations alone constitute proof of wrongdoing.
The party of Harm, Having No Soul, Hate of poor living children and unabashed Lust for the rich will stop at nothing to prove the delusional nature of their followers. These sheeple will believe ANYTHING that comes to them in a talking point memo and they will believe NOTHING that does not further the agenda of their masters.