Herman Cain’s “Fourth Woman” Accuser Says He Groped Her (UPDATED)

It’s hard to believe that Herman Cain can continue to use the patently absurd argument that journalists asking tough questions as they are trained and hired to do need to read the “Journalistic Code of Ethics,” given the specific and sordid allegations that emerged at a news conference yesterday from a woman (reportedly a registered Republican) who says he sexually harassed her in a way that some contend goes beyond sexual harassment:

Sharon Bialek alleged at a news conference today that Herman Cain reached under her skirt in 1997 as she sought help in finding a job.

The Chicago-area mother, described by her lawyer as a registered Republican, urged the GOP presidential candidate to “come clean” and admit how he was “inappropriate” with her and other women.

Bialek’s story was immediately denied by the Cain campaign, which sent out a news release as the woman spoke publicly at a New York City news conference with her lawyer, noted defense attorney Gloria Allred, by her side.

…..Bialek described an incident in July 1997 where she and Cain were in a car and he offered to show her the trade group’s headquarters. She had reached out to Cain at the behest of her boyfriend and came to Washington as part of the job search. She was surprised to find she had been upgraded at her hotel to a “palatial suite.”

Cain took credit for that upgrade, she said.

“Instead of going into the offices, he suddenly reached over and … put his hand on my leg, under my skirt toward my genitals,” Bialek said about the incident in the car.

“He also pushed my head toward his crotch,” she said.

Bialek described how she recently saw Cain at an event and asked if he remembered her.

“I want you, Mr. Cain, to come clean. Just admit what you did,” she said. “Admit you were inappropriate to people … and then move forward.”

“Mr. Cain, I implore you,” Bialek said. “Make this right. “

Video from CNN of her appearance later for an interview on Piers Morgan:

Cain’s campaign immediately denied the allegations — and Cain made it clear in an email published by The Politico that he feels he can play by his own rules in responding to this story and that his own rules are working:

Once this kind of nonsense starts, the media’s rules say you have to act in a certain way. I am well aware of these rules. And I refuse to play by them.

There are several reasons for this. One is that, lest anyone forget, we actually have serious matters to talk about. Since the media went bananas over this so-called story, my schedule has not changed in the slightest. I have continued to make all planned public appearances. I have continued to answer questions about my 9-9-9 tax reform plan. I have continued to do everything else that our strategy proscribes.

Another reason I refuse to play by these rules is that, by doing it my way, I’m getting much better results. My fundraising has skyrocketed since all this nonsense began. Just this weekend, the Washington Post has come out with a new poll – taken since all this started – showing me in the lead nationally, with my numbers on the rise.

The media may be obsessed with this business, but the voters are not. And I am not.

But there’s another crucially important reason I refuse to play by these rules: These rules stink. Can the process by which we pick the leader of our nation be any more absurd? I’m not talking about the primary process or the role of the electorate. There is nothing wrong with that. I am talking about the media’s trivializing of such an important matter.

Consider: I held various executive positions in corporate America for several decades. I had thousands of employees working for me. I can’t even begin to recall how many conversations I had with people during that time, how many directives I gave, how much friendly banter might have taken place.

Prediction: if Cain’s polls start to go down and if any more shoes drop in this story he will scuttle his own rules and play by the rules that officeholdershave traditionally played by: where there is accountability and there are consequences, if there has been wrongdoing.

This story is a story with “legs.”

We saw two more legs today.

Will we see more legs in coming days?

UPDATE: The National Journal’s Beth Reinhard says the dynamics have now been changed since Cain now has an accuser with face and name — and notes that Cain intends to deal with some of these charges later today:

But by presenting a name, a face, and details — unlike the three other women who have accused him of sexual harassment — Sharon Bialek will make it a lot harder for voters to ignore the allegations. Her nationally televised press conference on Monday ensures that this is not, as Cain declared recently, “end of story.’’ Not even close.

Cain himself tacitly acknowledged this late Monday, announcing that he would hold a news conference in Phoenix on Tuesday to discuss the allegations against him made by Bialek.

His campaign offered a preview of his likely defense centering on his latest accuser’s hiring of celebrity attorney Gloria Allred. “Ms. Allred is a high-profile Democrat Party donor and activist who has given over ten thousand dollars to liberal Democrats like Barack Obama, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer,” his campaign e-mail said.

“The questions the media should be asking are who’s paying for Gloria Allred’s fee, how did Ms. Bialek get introduced to Ms. Allred, and was she paid to come forward with these false accusations or was she promised employment?”

She concludes:

Bialek has changed the calculus. Before it was “’he said’’ versus “who knows who said what.” Now, it’s Herman Cain versus Sharon Bialek.

What’s more, the behavior she described goes further than the conventional definition of sexual harassment. This was not just an “off-color remark’’ as Hutchinson suggested. It was aggressive. It was physical. If you believe her story, it’s hard to argue that Cain didn’t cross the line.

Many of the conservative, tea party activists who have propelled Cain’s campaign are quick to deride the mainstream media. Some completely wall themselves off from it, selectively tuning in to the blogs and broadcasts that fit their preconceived notions about the world. That Bialek spoke unfiltered and directly to the television cameras could make a difference in how voters perceive the allegations.

Will Cain be the Republican nominee? Who knows? What’s certain is that Bialek has raised the stakes.