Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain suggested Texas Gov. Rick Perry's presidential campaign was complicit in pushing sexual harassment accusations made against him more than a decade ago into the spotlight.
The former CEO of Godfather's Pizza signaled his belief to Forbes that Curt Anderson -- who worked on Cain's unsuccessful bid for U.S. Senate in 2004 and now serves as an adviser for Perry's political operation -- was behind the allegations in question resurfacing.
Forbes reports:
In the summer of 2003, Cain recalls briefing Anderson -- his general campaign consultant at the time -- that sexual harassment claims were brought against him while he was chairman of the National Restaurant Association from 1996 to 1999.
Anderson, however, contends he first learned of the accusations Cain faced when they resurfaced in a story published earlier this week by Politico.
"I have nothing but good things to say about Herman Cain," he said. "I'm not going to bad-mouth Herman Cain to anyone, on or off the record. I think he is a guy of great leadership and integrity."
CBS News' Jan Crawford reports that Perry campaign spokesman Ray Sullivan denied Cain's claim that the Texas governor's campaign was involved in the sexual accusations landing in the headlines. Pointing to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's team, however, he said, "I wouldn't put it past them."
During an appearance on Fox News on Wednesday, Cain chief of staff Mark Block said that Perry's campaign needs "to apologize" to the former Godfather's Pizza CEO.
