Harassment allegations could haunt Bloomberg

? Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaks his mind, and that is a big part of his cachet in anything-goes New York.

But a sexual harassment lawsuit he settled in 2000 and other racy comments over the years show how his blunt style could prove a liability if he runs for president as an independent.

Before his election as mayor in 2001, Bloomberg was the target of a sexual harassment suit by a female executive who accused him of making repeated raunchy sexual comments while he was chief executive of his financial company, Bloomberg LP. Bloomberg denied the accusations.