Herman Cain aide falsely links accuser to Politico reporter (VIDEO)
Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain speaks at the National Press Club Oct. 31, 2011, in Washington, D.C. During a question and answer portion of the program, Cain called the accusations of sexual harassment against him “a witch hunt.”
Herman Cain’s campaign manager, Mark Block, wrongly insisted on Tuesday that the son of one of his accusers was actually a reporter at Politico, the first news outlet to break the story of Cain’s infidelities, CNN reported. And two of Cain's accusers have reportedly agreed to hold a joint news conference.
In a televised interview Tuesday night with Sean Hannity on Fox News, Block said Karen Kraushaar’s son was Josh Kraushaar, a Politico reporter.
"At the press conference it was brought up that Karen Kraushaar had come out as one of the women, and we've come to find out that her son works at Politico,” said Block, Slate reported.
Karen Kraushaar accused Cain, current candidate for the GOP seat in the 2012 presidential election, of sexual harassment in the late 1990s. She is among four women who have accused Cain of sexual harassment.
Read more at GlobalPost: Herman Cain: Third accuser comes forward
After the interview aired, Politico reported the incident immediately, running through the broadcast and clearing up the situation.
"I've been hearing that all day – you've confirmed that now?" Hannity asked.
"We've confirmed that he does indeed work at Politico and that's his mother, yes," said Block.
But as it turned out, there is no connection between the two with the same last name. Following the interview, Politico’s former reporter, who left in 2010 for the National Journal, tweeted in reference to the accusation. Kraushaar said that after getting the same questions, he isn’t related to Karen Kraushaar at all.
Read more at GlobalPost: Herman Cain accuser received $45,000: Politco
"Mark Block doesn't have his facts straight," said Kraushaar in a statement, Slate reported. "I am not related in any way to Karen Kraushaar, and I haven't worked at Politico since June 2010."
Shortly after the Cain campaign admitted Block was wrong but did not explain what led the chief-of-staff to his accusation before it was confirmed, Slate reported.
Meanwhile, Kraushaar and another woman who accused Cain of sexual harassment plan on holding a joint news conference, the lawyer for one of the women has told the Washington Post.
Joel P. Bennett, who represents Kraushaar, told the Post he was planning to hold a conference with well-known lawyer Gloria Allred, who represents Sharon Bialek.
Bialek went public with her claims Monday and accused Cain of groping her while in a car.
Reuters reports that Kraushaar wants to hold a news conference with as many Cain accusers as possible.
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