Former Staffer Accuses the Cain Campaign of Covering up Gay Advisor
Legal testimony from a former Herman Cain campaign staffer suggests the Republican presidential candidate may have tried to cover up the employment of a gay staffer.
Kevin Hall, a former Iowa straw poll coordinator for Cain's campaign, alleged in a letter for unemployment benefits that Cain's campaign tried to hide the fact that another employee, Scott Toomey, is gay and had served as a treasure for the Madison, Wis. Pride Board.
Hall quit Cain's campaign stating that contract agreements to spend July and August in Iowa were not honored. He also expressed his displeasure with being involved in what he claims was a cover-up.
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Hall wrote and later testified in court that, when Toomey's homosexuality "became an issue" among Iowans, Cain's spokeswoman Ellen Carmichael told him and others that Toomey no longer worked for the campaign in any capacity.
However, he said that Toomey continued to be a top advisor to Cain and received payments through a consulting firm called the Soarin' Group.
The Christian Post attempted to contact Carmichael for a statement, but did not receive one in time for publication. Carmichael told the Associated Press Hall is a disgruntled employee and that Toomey's sexuality was "not this campaign's business."
Cain, a minister at Antioch Baptist Church North in Atlanta, blasted President Barack Obama for choosing not to defend the Defense of Marriage Act – a federal law that defines marriages as a union that is only between a man and woman.
However he did not sign the National Organization for Marriage's pledge to defend DOMA. Cain also answered a blogger's question stating he would have no problem appointing an openly gay person to a position in his presidential administration.
John Smid, director of Grace Rivers Ministry and the former director of Love In Action, agreed with Cain's answer, He explained, "If any person is qualified to do a job, then yes, they should be hired, as long as their personal agenda does not interfere with their job responsibilities."
However Hall's testimony claimed that Toomey was involved in financial indiscretions while a treasure for the Wisconsin Pride Board.
Madison Pride said in 2008 that its board removed Toomey as treasurer after learning bills related to its 2007 event had not been paid and discovering other "financial discrepancies" that it said Toomey had failed to report. As a result, the group apologized to its supporters, was forced to scale back its 2008 pride parade and eventually folded.
Carmichael acknowledged that she did tell former Iowa director Tina Goff that Toomey was no longer a staffer. Carmichael defended her statement saying it was "100 percent truth."
Hall disclosed that information in order to receive unemployment benefits after quitting the campaign.
After hearing Hall's Court testimony, Judge Bonny Hendricksmeyer ruled to award him benefits, writing that "the presence of the gay person on the campaign was misrepresented to the staff, which caused Mr. Hall and others to inadvertently misrepresent the fact to others ... [Hall's] credibility and his future job prospects would have suffered."
