Block falsely links Cain accuser with reporter

(CNN) - Herman Cain's chief-of-staff Mark Block on Tuesday wrongly claimed that the son of a woman who accused Cain of sexual harassment worked at POLITICO, a news outlet that first broke the story.

"At the press conference it was brought up that Karen Kraushaar had come out as one of the women, and we've come to find out that her son works at Politico," Block said.

Kraushaar told CNN Tuesday that she accused Cain of sexual harassment when he led the National Restaurant Association in the late 1990s. Details of her case emerged through her lawyer last week, but she refused to go public at the time.

When asked if Block had confirmed the information about her "son," the chief-of-staff said "yes."

"We've confirmed ... that he does indeed work at POLITICO and that's his mother, yes," Block said.

But the man whom Block appears to be talking about–Josh Kraushaar–said he's not related to Karen Kraushaar. He previously worked at POLITICO but now works at National Journal, a news outlet that covers public affairs.

"Mark Block doesn't have his facts straight," Josh Kraushaar said in a statement obtained by CNN. "I am not related in any way to Karen Kraushaar, and I haven't worked at Politico since June 2010."

Cain spokesman J.D. Gordon acknowledged Block's mistake in an email to CNN.

"Based upon information available at the time of Mr. Block's Tuesday night interview on Fox News, the campaign was led to believe that Mr. Josh Kraushaar, currently with the National Journal and a former employee of Politico, was the son of Karen Kraushaar," Gordon said. "Mr. Josh Kraushaar is in fact, not related to Ms. Karen Kraushaar."

–CNN's Steve Brusk and Peter Hamby contributed to this report.