"In some small way I feel slightly vindicated," said Sharon Bialek.
Bialek is the first woman to put a voice and face to the sordid sexual claims against Cain. She and her attorney Gloria Allred held a news conference in Chicago Monday.
"I did not want to bring this man down...My whole intention was to at least give him a platform to tell the truth. The American people really love to forgive people. We do it to celebrities we do it to politicians; but he couldn't find it within his heart to tell the truth and I knew the truth," she said.
In the span of a single month, the single mom from Glenview's decision to not only come forward but also grant dozens of interviews helped knock Cain from frontrunner to the political back burner. The final nail in the coffin of the Cain campaign was an Atlanta woman's story that she and the married candidate carried on an affair for 13 years.
With every new allegation, Cain offered a recycled response.
"The fact is these anonymous allegations are false and now the Democrat machine in America has brought forth a troubled woman to make these accusations," said Cain.
"I admit it, I do have financial problems. My financial problems have been used to suggest that I have come forward for monetary gain. Nothing could be further from the truth. I could have sold my story, but I refused to do so. Also, I was not running for the most important job in the world. Mr. Cain was," said Bialek.
What's next for Sharon Bialek? Her celebrity attorney hinted she may go after Cain and his surrogates for trying to dirty Bialek up.
"I don't make threats to anyone ever. I just do what I'm going to do," said Allred.
But Ms. Bialek says she has more pressing problems. "Honestly, I need a job. I have been interviewing like crazy," she said.
Bialek's attorney correctly points out that since Cain suspended but did not officially end his campaign he can continue to raise money and ask for taxpayer funded matching dollars. The Cain campaign has not said whether it will request that money.
