Two of the women who have accused presidential hopeful Herman Cain of sexual harassment have agreed to appear together at a joint press conference to discuss the specifics – and similarities – of their complaints against Cain.
Joel Bennett, the attorney for Karen Kraushaar, who settled a sexual harassment complaint against Cain with the National Restaurant Association for a reported $45,000 back in 1999, told TIME that his client will appear at a joint press conference with Sharon Bialek, the woman who came forward on Monday. “Gloria Allred has already agreed to participate with her client,” Bennett said about Bialek’s attorney. “It is a certainty. Date and time to be determined.” (Allred did not immediately return an e-mail.)
Bennett confirmed he has also reached out to a third Cain accuser, a woman living in New Jersey who also settled a complaint with the NRA back in the late 1990s for $35,000. Bennett said it is unclear if that woman would also participate in the press conference.
Bialek’s allegations are particularly shocking. On Monday, she described a 1997 groping to reporters that sounds more akin to assault than mere harassment. She said Cain reached into her skirt and pushed her head towards his lap. Bennett has said publicly that Kraushaar’s experiences were similar to Bialek’s, but so far has not confirmed any details. Kraushaar, he now says, will detail a “series of inappropriate behaviors and unwanted advances” at the forthcoming joint press conference.
