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Schwarzenegger denies fresh allegationsHe accuses newspaper of 'outrageous yellow journalism'
FRESNO, California (CNN) -- Republican candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger continued to rebuff mounting criticism Saturday and point fingers at Gov. Gray Davis for spurring recent allegations of misconduct. But even as Schwarzenegger defended himself against a fresh set of allegations involving misconduct with women, at least one newspaper -- the Oakland Tribune -- retracted its endorsement of the California gubernatorial candidate. The Los Angeles Times reported Saturday morning that two women who worked on the set of the 1988 film "Twins" accused the actor-turned-politician of sexual misconduct. Schwarzenegger accused the Times of "outrageous yellow journalism" and demanded an apology from Davis for his comments on disputed reports that Schwarzenegger once expressed admiration for Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. Schwarzenegger has denied making such statements and said he has nothing but "disdain" for the Nazi leader. He noted that he has raised millions of dollars for the Simon Wiesenthal Center, which seeks to preserve the memory of the Holocaust. (Full story) Schwarzenegger said the stream of allegations about groping women and Nazi sympathies are part of a "puke campaign" aimed at his front-running candidacy. Voters go to the polls TuesdayAlthough the Times reported that the allegations of sexual misconduct did not come from any replacement candidate or the governor, Schwarzenegger aimed his displeasure at Davis, the man he hopes to replace Tuesday in the recall election. "Davis always knows how to run a dirty campaign, but he doesn't know how to run the state. That's the problem that he has," Schwarzenegger said, to a roar of approval from the crowd at a campaign stop in Fresno. On Tuesday, voters will first be asked whether Davis should be removed from office. Voters will then choose his replacement in case the first question is approved. In the wake of the negative reports about Schwarzenegger, the Oakland Tribune retracted the endorsement it had given him. The newspaper had originally urged people to vote "no" on the recall but to vote for Schwarzenegger on the second part of the ballot. Now, it is not endorsing a candidate. Meanwhile, Davis and Democratic officeholders campaigning in the Bay Area on Saturday cited the news reports about Schwarzenegger as they tried to raise public doubt about the wisdom of recall and rally the Democratic base to oppose it. "The choice next Tuesday is crystal clear: You can retain me as governor and allow me to finish the term you elected me to serve last November, or you can elect Arnold Schwarzenegger as governor," Davis said. "If the news events over the last couple days have raised any doubts in your mind about the wisdom of electing Arnold Schwarzenegger, I say to you, 'Come home, vote no on the recall.'" Later, in a forum on women's rights, Davis said that some of events described by the women alleging sexual misconduct by Schwarzenegger "are clearly a crime." "Electing a governor who might have committed a crime is obviously going to distract the state from the important work it has to do," he said. Davis: Authorities should review factsAsked if he thought there should be an investigation into the groping allegations against Schwarzenegger, Davis said, "I believe authorities should do their job. They should review all the facts. On the completion of that review, if they think a crime was committed, they should follow their own laws." Attending the forum with Davis, Democratic U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein said the allegations against Schwarzenegger "should cause us all to think, 'Do we really want this man as governor of our state? Do we really want him to be the role model for our children?'" She told a union rally in Oakland that Schwarzenegger "has real problems -- problems in his character, problems in his political thinking, problems substantial enough to make many people wonder if he is actually qualified to be governor of the largest state in the union. "I don't believe he is," she said. Saturday's Times article followed its report Thursday on allegations of sexual misconduct against Schwarzenegger that spanned three decades. In response to Thursday's article, Schwarzenegger said he had "behaved badly" on movie sets in the past. He offered an apology to anyone whom he may have offended but said many of the details reported were false. (Full story) Schwarzenegger campaign: Allegations not trueCampaign spokesman Rob Sutzman said Saturday that the latest allegations are "not true." He also said the Times didn't contact the Schwarzenegger campaign for comment until just before the deadline for its first edition Friday night -- not enough time, he said, to gather information from people who could rebut the charges, including Ivan Reitman, the film's director. "This is unprecedented, gutter, last-minute, 'gotcha' journalism by the largest newspaper in this state," Sutzman said. In a statement included in later editions of the story and on the Times' Web site, Reitman told the newspaper, "Nothing even approximating what you're saying happened." Two other "Twins" crew members also disputed the charges. CNN correspondents Candy Crowley, Frank Buckley and Kelly Wallace contributed to this report.
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