Herman Cain (Getty)

Republican Presidential candidate Herman Cain’s spokesman J.D. Gordon is firing back against allegations Mr. Cain was accused of inappropriate conduct by two women during his time as head of the National Restaurant Association in the late 1990′s. Mr. Gordon told the Observer the story, which was first reported by Politico, was a “personal attack based on thinly sourced allegations.”

Mr. Gordon briefly spoke to the Observer Sunday evening about an hour after the story broke. He also sent us a statement describing the accusations against Mr. Cain as “rumors that never stood up to the facts.”

“Since Washington establishment critics haven’t had much luck in attacking Mr. Cain’s ideas to fix a bad economy and create jobs, they are trying to attack him in any way they can,” the statement said.

According to Politico, “the women complained of sexually suggestive behavior by Cain that made them angry and uncomfortable” and subsequently left the Association after signing five figure separation agreements that barred them from discussing the circumstances of their departure. Mr. Cain was head of the association from 1996 until 1999.

Politico did not publish the names of the women involved in the alleged incidents due to “privacy concerns.” The site also spoke to several of Mr. Cain’s former colleagues on the association’s board of directors who said they were not familiar with complaints against Mr. Cain.

Mr. Cain is currently on top of the Republican primary field in multiple major polls.

Read the full text of Mr. Gordon’s statement responding to the allegations below:

Inside the Beltway media attacks Cain

Fearing the message of Herman Cain who is shaking up the political landscape in Washington, Inside the Beltway media have begun to launch unsubstantiated personal attacks on Cain.

Dredging up thinly sourced allegations stemming from Mr. Cain’s tenure as the Chief Executive Officer at the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s, political trade press are now casting aspersions on his character and spreading rumors that never stood up to the facts.

Since Washington establishment critics haven’t had much luck in attacking Mr. Cain’s ideas to fix a bad economy and create jobs, they are trying to attack him in any way they can.

Sadly, we’ve seen this movie played out before – a prominent Conservative targeted by liberals simply because they disagree with his politics.

Mr. Cain — and all Americans, deserve better.

Follow Hunter Walker on Twitter or via RSS. hwalker@observer.com