Woman Claims 13-Year Affair With Herman Cain
Another allegation of sexual wrongdoing for Herman Cain.
An Atlanta television station is breaking a story tonight about a woman who claims she had a 13 year long consensual affair with Presidential candidate Herman Cain:
ATLANTA, Ga. – An Atlanta businesswoman is breaking her silence, claiming she has been involved in a 13-year-long affair with Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain.
Over the Thanksgiving weekend, FOX 5 senior I-Team reporter Dale Russell sat down with Ginger White, who had an amazing story to tell.
“It was pretty simple,” White said. “It wasn’t complicated. I was aware that he was married. And I was also aware I was involved in a very inappropriate situation, relationship.”
In an exclusive interview on FOX 5 News at 6, Russell will tell you why White is speaking out now, and show you the records that she says back up her story.
Cain actually broke the story himself this afternoon during an appearance on The Situation Room:
In another part of the interview, Cain explicitly denied that there was any kind of sexual relationship between him and this woman. Cain’s attorney has also released a statement:
“Mr. Cain has been informed today that your television station plans to broadcast a story this evening in which a female will make an accusation that she engaged in a 13-year long physical relationship with Mr. Cain. This is not an accusation of harassment in the workplace – this is not an accusation of an assault – which are subject matters of legitimate inquiry to a political candidate.
Rather, this appears to be an accusation of private, alleged consensual conduct between adults – a subject matter which is not a proper subject of inquiry by the media or the public. No individual, whether a private citizen, a candidate for public office or a public official, should be questioned about his or her private sexual life. The public’s right to know and the media’s right to report has boundaries and most certainly those boundaries end outside of one’s bedroom door.
Mr. Cain has alerted his wife to this new accusation and discussed it with her. He has no obligation to discuss these types of accusations publicly with the media and he will not do so even if his principled position is viewed unfavorably by members of the media.”
I’ll update the post with details later, but it strikes me at least initially that the Cain people were actually pretty smart in pre-empting the report here and making at least the initial revelation themselves. It shows that they might have actually learned something from the debacle in October. At the same time, though, it’s worth noting that Cain’s attorney is saying that they’ll be making no comments to the media, and yet there’s Cain on CNN at 4pm making comments to the media. Also, Cain denied there was an affair, his attorney’s statement does not.
Personally, I’m not sure whether this all matters. I’m no Herman Cain fan, but having a consensual affair is very different from allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault, and the fact that he may be guilty of the first does not mean he’s guilty of other, more serious, charges. Nonetheless, it’s another straw on the camel’s back, and Cain did say at one point during his interview with Biltzer that there may come a time he will have to consider the impact these allegations are having on his family regardless of what it means for his campaign. Some may take that as a signal that he’s opening the door to a withdrawal, but that’s open to interpretation.
Nonetheless, here we are at Round Two of the Herman Cain sex scandal. Something tells me there’s more to come.
Update: Further details from the updated report at Fox 5 Atlanta:
ATLANTA, Ga. – An Atlanta businesswoman is breaking her silence, claiming she has been involved in a 13-year-long affair with Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain.
Over the Thanksgiving weekend, FOX 5 senior I-Team reporter Dale Russell sat down with Ginger White, who had a story to tell.
“I’m not proud,” White told Russell. “I didn’t want to come out with this. I did not.”
White was worried a political tsunami was headed her way. So, she decided to head it off, by confessing she was involved in a 13-year-long affair with presidential hopeful Herman Cain.
“It was pretty simple,” White said. “It wasn’t complicated. I was aware that he was married. And I was also aware I was involved in a very inappropriate situation, relationship.”
Ginger White says she met Herman Cain in the late 90s in Louisville, Kentucky, when as president of the National Restaurant Association, he made a presentation. She was impressed. She says they shared drinks afterwards and he invited her back to his hotel room.
“‘I’d like to see you again,'” White said Cain told her. “‘You are beautiful to me, and I would love for us to continue this friendship.'”
She says in his hotel room, he pulled out a calendar and invited her to meet him in Palm Springs. She accepted, and she says the affair began.
“He made it very intriguing,” White told FOX 5. “It was fun. It was something that took me away from my humdrum life at the time. And it was exciting.”
She says he gave her his newly-published book, Leadership is Common Sense, and he wrote: “Miss G, you have already made a ‘big difference!’ Stay focused as you pursue your next destination.”
She says during the next 13 years, he would fly her to cities where he was speaking and he lavished her with gifts. She says they often stayed at the Ritz Carlton in Buckhead and dined at The Four Seasons restaurant. She says he never harassed her, never treated her poorly, and was the same man you see on the campaign trail.
“Very much the same, very much confident, very much sure of himself,” White said, describing Cain. “Very arrogant in a playful sometimes way. Very, ah — Herman Cain loves Herman Cain.”
When his new book, CEO of SELF, came out in 2001, she says Cain once again autographed it for her writing, “Friends are forever! Everything else is a bonus.”
When asked if it was fair to say the relationship is going on even now, White said, “I think it is safe to say that after this interview, that will be the end of it. Yes, we have a friendship now.”
She says the physical relationship ended about eight months ago, right before Cain announced he was running for president. But the communication did not. When we asked for any corroborating evidence, she pointed us to her cell phone contacts. One name: Herman Cain.
She showed us some of her cell phone bills that included 61 phone calls or text messages to or from a number starting with 678. She says it is Herman Cain’s private cell phone. The calls were made during four different months– calls or texts made as early as 4:26 in the early morning, and as late as 7:52 at night. The latest were in September of this year.
“We’ve never worked together,” said White. “And I can’t imagine someone phoning or texting me for the last two and a half years, just because.”
We texted the number and Herman Cain called us back. He told us he “knew Ginger White” but said these are “more false allegations.” He said she had his number because he was “trying to help her financially.”
She says she planned on keeping the relationship a secret while Cain made his run for the White House until she and her family watched reports of different women who had accused Herman Cain of sexual harassment. She says she was not surprised by the allegations, but was bothered by the way Cain fought back, attacking the woman, including during an appearance on Late Show with David Letterman.
“It bothered me that they were being demonized, sort of, they were treated as if they were automatically lying, and the burden of proof was on them,” White said. “I felt bad for them.”
So, there you have it. I’m not sure what to say but this will be the news cycle for the next day or so.
Update: And, here’s the video of Fox 5 Atlanta’s report that aired tonight:
Georgia Woman Claims 13-Year Affair with Herman Cain: MyFoxATLANTA.com
While I agree that a consensual affair proves nothing about the other allegations (and is in a different class of behaviors) I think it does matter, especially if one is going to run as a family values candidate.
@Steven L. Taylor:
Fair point, and when you say “there’s nothing there” and more keeps coming out it tends to erode your credibility. But, for me at least, that goes back to the old Washington saying that “it’s not the crime, it’s the coverup.” For example, for me Gary Hart’s sin wasn’t having an affair with Donna Rice, it was stupidly daring the press to follow him and try to “catch” him. That displays a lack of good judgment .
Yup, here we go again…..
Hey Doug, have you seen this yet? Just wondering? It seems kind of smart too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jneGy5tz3Io&feature=player_embedded
Herman always delivered in :30 or less…for 13 years.
Hey Norm, what is your opinion on this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwgD-8Bj_Qs
G.A.,
Yes I’ve seen Cain’s cheesy video about his crappy tax plan
You’re doing it wrong…
Methinks counsel’s second paragraph is not helpful.
This one’s 15 minutes is so last week. This week’s clown is someone else.
Could give a fella whiplash
@sam:
Not every lawyer knows politics. Poor Herman: sunk by his own lawyer. Well, that plus the 13 year affair.
Herman Cain should fire his smoking Chief of Staff Mark Block, replace him with the Smoking Man from X-Files, and run on a “Let’s find out what’s in Area 51” campaign. Serious? No. Seriously awesome? Yes.
This is a very cynical take on the Herman Cain candidacy, and yes I used to joke about it, but am beginning to think it’s actually true:
Cain never, ever expected to poll more than 3-5%.
In that range he could monetize his run – sell some more books, jack his speaking fee, and lap up that sweet, sweet wingnut welfare money for life. Not a Trump life certainly, but a nice, solid Loudoun County B- / B cast-iron backscratching / logrolling lifestyle – a new Regnery book deal where the Heritage Foundation pledges to buy 500k books, The Weekly Standard cruise gig, a nice AEI sinecure where someone smart writes your copy but you get the byline.
That was the goal. But then things turned squirrelly.
All of the sudden he has to answer serious questions from “real” journalists about 9-9-9 and Libya cogently. “WTF? I didn’t sign up for this.”
It wasn’t the Clintonesque hubris of “No one will find out” that led Cain into having to fend off allegations of sexual misconduct and long term mistresses. It was the exact opposite; he never expected more than the reflection of the reflection of the spotlight, never the full glare right in his face – and his past.
He was doing a short grift but circumstances threw him into a long con that he was not prepared for. He didn’t want to be the frontrunner, he had no idea how to be the frontrunner, frontrunners have staff that they never see but still have to organize, frontrunners get the hard questions, I’m on the news which is great but what the heck is happening. What the Hell does “GOTV”mean and who can I ask that can keep a secret so I don’t look dumb? “My God, What Have I Done?”
And then his past caught up with him.
It’s kind of funny. That pretentious idiot came into politics thinking that since he was a strong businessman, it’ll be super easy. Soon, he’ll come back home to his newly ruined mariage. Sweet karma.
So how much of an immediate bump do you think he’ll get?
@Neil Hudelson:
Probably not a full eight-ball, but, at the very least, a couple of monster rails.
Sort of like throwing an anchor to a drowning man, at this point.
@de stijl:
That’s exactly my take. Suddenly he was in the big leagues and all he had was a whiffle bat.
Come on now. This is conservative politics. If you don’t have a mistress or two, no one takes you seriously.
Yeah, I’ve mentioned Jon Chait’s take before: Cain was implementing a business plan, not conducting an actual campaign. And then, and then (as the old Coasters’ song went), along came the polls and “Holy Shit! These rubes are taking me seriously. Hey, maybe they’re not rubes after all. Maybe…”
de stijl at 21:51 cracks me up.
just how many hairs can you fit on a coke can, anyway? seems like weve heard this kinda pile-on before
@Eric Florack: Interesting that you went there.
Strikes me that the better analogy is Bill Clinton.
@ SLT…
It’s completely predictable that he went there.
In that case the victim’s charachter was successfully assassinated…which is the first play in the GOP playbook.
In the Clinton case impeachment failed…and in fact backfired on the current leader of the GOP primaries. But Gingriches newest wife is so nice…his cheating on the other two was completely justified.
Oh wait – we were talking about Cain.
You know, while this was a consensual (alleged) affair, it strikes me that the story this woman tells is pretty similar to the story at least one other accuser has told – that Cain picked her out of a group, invited her to his room and made advances. Except in this case it worked.
So it has relevance in that it tends to corroborate the other stories.
@Hey Norm: Actually, yes, quite predictable.
@pylon: Good point.
@Hey Norm:
Count me in that club as well.
@michael reynolds:
But MR’s two sentence summation cracks me up even more.
Seriously? Here we have yet another woman coming forward who claims to have had a relationship with Cain WHILE he was going through STAGE 4 CANCER? First, that would be one pretty darn tough fella. Next, this “lady” has filed sexual harassment claims against another employer, was accused of stalking via. email/texts yet another, bankruptcies, evictions…. I would be really curious to see if some of her financials problems mysteriously vanish in the near future. That aside, we have seen these tactics repeated so many times in the past when you have a decent, conservative candidate running – only to find out there was absolutely NO substance to the accusations. Only problem is, they “clear up” after it’s too late. Well, NOT THIS TIME!
Here we have yet another woman coming forward who claims to have had a relationship with Cain WHILE he was going through STAGE 4 CANCER?
Actually, she claims a 13-year relationship. His successful cancer treatment was performed during that time, but is only a small portion of that time.
First, that would be one pretty darn tough fella.
For what?
Only problem is, they “clear up” after it’s too late. Well, NOT THIS TIME!
You’re right. It doesn’t look like they will “clear up” at all.
I guess…. if you consider him to be our first black president as he clearly wanted us to.
That said, it seems to me we’ve heard these attacks on black conservatives before… by a left and a press…(But I repeat myself) desperate to destroy any minority conservative.
Tell ya what, gang…. why have we never seen any reporting on the rumors and charges that have floated around Chicago for a nuber of years that Obama is gay, or perhaps, if you like Bi? I mean, I couldn’t care less about that particular, but the point is, why do you never see Obama getting the anal exam (Pardon the pun) we see conservatives… particularly minority conservatives… getting?
Well, we have certainly seen this sort of effort to avoid looking honestly at the actions and character of “family values” conservatives before…
@Eric Florack:
The problem is, Erik, this is not about race, but the fact that you go there (and twice, no less) is telling about your point of view.
I guess…. if you consider him to be our first black president as he clearly wanted us to.
Apparently only black guys cheat on their wives in Eric’s world.
By the way, Toni Morrison called Clinton our first black president, not Clinton himself. Details!
@Eric Florack:
That’s your trump card? Really? You’re pinning your hopes on Larry Sinclair?
Probably no traction because: a) appeares to be happily married with two kids (does mean not gay, I suppose, but creates a pretty strong presumption); and b) who the hell cares if he’s gay?
As far as Sinclair, is having a kilt wearing lawyer who talks about the size of his junk proof that someone is lying? No, but it’s a pretty good indicator of how seriously I’m going to take you. That and failing two polygraph tests.