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An Atlanta businesswoman accused GOP presidential hopeful Herman Cain of having had an affair with her that lasted 13 years, an Atlanta television station reported Monday.
"I was aware that he was married, and I was also aware that I was involved in a very inappropriate situation relationship," the woman -- identified by the station as Ginger White -- told WAGA.
The candidate upstaged his accuser's announcement, telling CNN a few minutes beforehand that her assertion was coming and was false. "This individual is going to accuse me of an affair for an extended period of time," Cain said on CNN's "Situation Room."
"It is someone that I know who is an acquaintance that I thought was a friend."
Cain said he learned about the accusation after his lawyer talked to a reporter about it.
Cain said his wife's immediate reaction upon hearing of the accusation was, "Here we go again."
He said he had no plans to drop out of the race. "Not as long as my wife is behind me and as long as my wife believes I should stay in this race, I'm staying in this race," Cain said.
"Some things are fair game, and some aren't," Cain's attorney, Lin Wood of Atlanta, told CNN in a telephone interview, adding that this was one of them. "You've got to draw the line somewhere."
He said in a statement to WAGA that "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."
Source: CNN