Lawyer for Cain:

The National Restaurant Association released a statement Friday confirming that over a decade ago, a female employee filed a formal complaint of sexual harassment against then-association head Herman Cain. Cain disputed the allegations at the time, according to the trade group.

The association told the woman’s attorney it is willing to waive the confidentiality agreement signed by the parties involved — although not by Cain himself — but her lawyer, Joel P. Bennett, said in his own statement Friday that the woman wishes to remain a private citizen and would not be revealing further details regarding her story.

But Bennett did reveal that his client said there were “several instances” that caused his client to feel uncomfortable.

“Based upon the information currently available, we can confirm that more than a decade ago, in July 1999, Mr. Bennett’s client filed a formal internal complaint, in accordance with the Association’s existing policies prohibiting discrimination and harassment,” NRA President and CEO Dawn Sweeney said.“Mr. Herman Cain disputed the allegations in the complaint.”

In a statement late Friday afternoon, Cain spokesman J.D. Gordon said: "We look forward to focusing our attention on the real issues impacting this country -- like fixing this broken economy and putting Americans back to work through our 9-9-9 plan, as well as strengthening national security."

Sweeney said an agreement was reached “without an admission of liability,” and that Cain, now a GOP presidential candidate, was “not a party to the agreement.”

But in a press conference on Friday, Bennet said the woman in question,who has been married 26 years and is a federal employee, said that “she has decided not to relive” the incident and wants to remain a private person.

“My client stands by the complaint she made,” Bennett said.

Bennett, who filed a request Wednesday asking that the National Restaurant Association waive a confidentiality agreement, said that for his client, revisiting the incident, which he said occured over a month’s time and happened more than once, would be “extremely painful” for his client.

Bennett refused to disclose how much his client settled the case for and said that he would not get into any details of whether the complaints involved physical interaction or conversations, but labeled it as sexual harassment.

The NRA said it would have been willing to waive its confidentiality agreement if the woman who filed the complaint had wanted to speak.

“We have advised Mr. Bennett that we are willing to waive the confidentiality of this matter and permit Mr. Bennett’s client to comment. As indicated in Mr. Bennett’s statement, his client prefers not to be further involved with this matter and we will respect her decision.”

Seemingly undaunted by the scandal swirling around him, Cain arrived back in Washington on Friday to speak to a group sponsored by Americans for Prosperity, where he made a concerted effort to focus on substance rather than the sexual harassment scandal that has swirled around him for the last six days.

demands Advani: Black money issue: Reveal names of 3 MPs

BJP leader L K Advani on Saturday asked the government to disclose the names of three MPs who figure in the list of 700 Indians who have stashed funds in Swiss bank accounts, terming it as a serious matter which brings the issue of black money close to the political system.

“Three MPs have been named -- one each from Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana -- in the list of those having Swiss bank accounts. This is a very serious issue. If this is true, then obviously the issue of blackmoney comes close to the political system. It cannot be dealt with only as a tax evasion case,” Mr. Advani told reporters in Mumbai.

Demanding that full facts in this connection be made public, he said, “I, as an MP, have the right to know who they are and what action has been taken against them. It is not merely a case of tax evasion, it is a crime. Particularly if the amount is a large one, it may well be a case of money earned out of criminality.”

Asking whether the Centre is really interested in exposing those who have funds stashed abroad, Mr. Advani said he has been demanding that the government must come out with a white paper spelling out steps taken to bring back the country’s black money.

Countries like USA, Germany, France and even smaller nations like Philippines, Peru and Nigeria have taken a variety of measures to bring back black money parked in foreign bank accounts with great success.

“Why is the UPA government not ready to do the same,” he asked.

Announcing that Parliament’s winter session is bound to focus on black money, he said, “It would be appropriate if the government presents a status paper on black money during the upcoming session.” he said.

The Income Tax departnment is probing a list of 700 Indians having accounts with a multi-national bank in Geneva after the government received information in this regard reportedly from the French government.

Reminding the Prime Minister of his announcement that steps would be initiated against black money within 100 days of UPA’s second term in office, Mr. Advani said, “A few months ago the Swiss Ambassador to India said if the Indian government shows the political will the Swiss government was willing to cooperate.”

Countries like the U.S., Germany, France and U.K. have entered into agreements and treaties with Switzerland which helped them extract information. The U.S. got information of 4,000 account holders from the UBS Bank. Other countries have also managed to get substantial information, he said.

“The nature of the agreement which India has entered into is so worded that the government takes shelter under it to refuse to extract information. This is also prospective, giving scope to defaulters to withdraw their money,” Mr. Advani said.

Asked about corruption cases against former Karnataka Chief Minister Yeddyurappa, Mr. Advani said, “I have spoken in detail on this issue. I do not want to repeat the same things again and again.”