Gloria Allred: Cain’s claim is ‘almost unimaginable’

Cain denied ever having sexually harassed any employees on Monday, the morning after reports emerged that the National Restaurant Association had settled two claims against him while he led the organization. Cain said that while he knew of the allegations — which he said were false — he was unaware of any settlements.

“I find this almost unimaginable, for various reasons,” said Allred, who frequently represents female plaintiffs in high-profile sexual harassment cases. “He generally would be signing off on the settlement, or even be a party to it.”

{mosads}Allred added that if elected president, Cain would be responsible for the largest workforce in the country — the federal government — making his treatment of employees a legitimate national concern.

“Hopefully he’s not going to be able to dance away from this, and avoid and evade answering the questions,” she said.

Allred noted that by saying the allegations of sexual harassment were false, Cain is making allegations of his own: that the two employees lied about his conduct.

“What are the names?” she said. “If he says they were false, he’s acusing someone of making false allegations.”

Often pitted against politicians in high-profile cases, Allred represented the woman who claimed former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) forced her to lie about the sexting scandal. She also took on the case of Nicky Diaz Santillan, who former California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman hired as a housekeeper despite allegedly knowing she was an illegal immigrant.