Not a Pretty Picture II

I've never made a study of it, but my understanding is that the standard defense in a rape trial – especially when the accused is actually guilty – is to attack the woman making the accusation. She was a tease. She's a slut. She's a divorcée, and you know what they're like. In high school she was considered "loose".

So if Sharon Bialek's "celebrity lawyer," Gloria Allred, is a decent person (not to mention a good lawyer), she should have strongly warned Bialek what she would be in for if she went public with her accusations about Herman Cain.

And sure enough, within 12 hours we found out:

Records show she twice has filed for personal bankruptcy, first in 1991 and then again in 2001. In the latter case, she claimed $5,700 in assets and more than $36,000 in liabilities. Among the creditors seeking payment was a management firm demanding back rent of $4,500, four credit card companies and a lawyer asking for his legal fees.

 [Clip]

The IRS filed a tax lien against her in 2009 for nearly $5,200. In August, the Illinois Department of Revenue claimed Bialek owed the state more than $4,300, including penalties and interest, relating to income taxes from 2004, according to county records.

And I think this much is fair. Bialek came out of nowhere to make these accusations. We have no idea who she is, or how to weigh the credibility of her statements.

For his part, Herman Cain says he can't remember Bialek. He doesn't remember her name, he doesn't remember the occasion. He doesn't remember her even after seeing her picture. Luckily, a New York Post columnist was in the back seat, taking notes. Bialek, says Andrea Peyser, "flirted like a tart" at her meeting with Cain. The meeting that Cain can't remember, but Peyser confirms took place.

I was not there, so I won't pretend to know what really happened. What I do know doesn't sound good for either of them.

Update:  In the middle of the Cain campaign's all-out effort to destroy Sharon Bialek, Cain's attorney has issued a threat to other women who may be considering stepping forward:  they should "think twice" before doing so.  Cain's attorney has represented Kobe Bryant and the family of JonBenet Ramsey, but I have yet to see him described as a "celebrity lawyer." I'm not sure what the rules are for that.