Who Leaked Herman Cain’s Sexual Harassment Charge?

Allegations of sexual harassment from Herman Cain's tenure as CEO of the National Restaurants Association are now rocking his presidential campaign. Politico broke the story Sunday that two women accused Cain of inappropriate behavior in the 1990s. Cain and his representatives denied wholeheartedly that the pizza magnate had ever harassed anyone, but waffled on the possibility of a settlement. Cain first said he was  not aware of any settlement before coming clean in statements made Monday at the National Press Club: "I was falsely accused of sexual harassment, and when the charges were brought, as the leader of the organization, I recused myself and allowed my general counsel and human resource officer to handle it." The full story continue to trickle out with Cain now revealing some of the details of the original accusations.

[See photos of 2012 GOP hopefuls on the campaign trail]

As the media digs deeper into the scandal, two more questions loom over Cain. Firstly, will his presidential campaign be able to weather the storm? Secondly, who is responsible for the leak in the first place? On Laura Ingraham's radio show Monday morning, former governor Mike Huckabee suggested that rival GOP campaigns were to blame. "It's insane—one of the fundamental things a candidate will spend money on is research," he said, recalling the sort of opposition research conducted on him during his 2008 presidential run. Cain has no doubt shaken up GOP field, skyrocketing past more establishment-appropriate candidates while showing off his (at times controversial) sense of humor, his goofy campaign ads, and his flair for singing. That doesn't exclude the possibility of a Democratic source for the leak, either. At the very least, many commentators, including Peter Roff accuse the mainstream media of jumping on a stories like this one, "that are short on fact but long on rumor, innuendo, and anonymous sources," while following the "the Democratic Party line." The story also could have simply come from a disgruntled former employee.

What do you think? Who leaked Herman Cain's sexual harassment charge? Take the poll and comment below.

Previously: Can Herman Cain Put the Sexual Harassment Story Behind Him?

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