On Wednesday's Early Show, CBS's Betty Nguyen incorrectly reported that Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain had been accused of "sexual assault" by two women. Nguyen later accurately reported that the women actually leveled sexual harassment allegations against Cain [video below the jump; audio clip available here].
The fill-in news anchor used the erroneous term during a 14-second news brief 37 minutes into the 7 am Eastern hour: "One of two women who accuse Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain of sexual assault wants to speak out. The woman's lawyer say she wants to be released from a confidentiality agreement, so that she can publically respond to Cain's recent claims regarding the case."
Nguyen gave a second brief on the Cain story just under an hour later, but this time, correctly summarized the latest development on the controversy:
NGUYEN: One of the women who accused Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain of sexual harassment wants to tell her story. The New York Times reports one of the accusers was paid $35,000 in severance pay by the National Restaurant Association, after she said an encounter with Cain made her uncomfortable. A lawyer for the second woman wants the restaurant association to waive the confidentiality deal.
NGUYEN: When Cain was asked why he doesn't give his permission to let the accuser speak, he said there are legal questions that must be answered first.
Despite this accurate second brief, CBS didn't issue a correction concerning the initial report during the remainder of The Early Show.
