Apr 24, 2019

Cain: Harassment claims no part of decision to withdraw from Fed consideration

Herman Cain. Photo: Cheriss May/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Herman Cain told Fox News' "Hannity" Tuesday sexual harassment allegations leveled against him formed no part of his decision to withdraw from the Federal Reserve's board consideration after President Trump's nomination.

"Those accusations had nothing to do with my decision. My decision was driven by ... collecting all the information, and also finding out from administration staffers the things that I could and could not do. When I started to look at the list of things that I could not do, that is like taking a stallion, keeping him in the stable, and not let him run."

Details: Cain told Fox News host Sean Hannity if he had become federal reserve governor, he couldn't do the things he enjoys.

"I would have been limited in terms of what I could talk about and tell people the truth. Whereas, in this environment, I am unlimited in being able to say what I want, when I want, to whomever if I want ..."

The backdrop: Cain's potential nomination to the Fed already faced pushback from Republican senators due to sexual assault allegations, which he has previously denied.

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Global: Total confirmed cases as of 1:30 a.m. ET: 1,347,892 — Total deaths: 74,808 — Total recoveries: 284,802 — Map.
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Trump administration latest: President Trump's economic adviser Peter Navarro warned White House colleagues in late January the coronavirus could take over half a million American lives and cost close to $6 trillion, memos obtained by Axios show.
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U.S. coronavirus updates: Death toll nears 11,000

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

Recorded deaths from the novel coronavirus surpassed 10,900 in the U.S. early Tuesday, per Johns Hopkins data. More than 1,000 people in the U.S. have died of coronavirus-related conditions each day since April 1.

Why it matters: U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams said on Sunday this week will be "the hardest and saddest week of most Americans' lives" — calling it our "our Pearl Harbor, our 9/11 moment."

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Docs: Navarro memos warning mass death circulated West Wing in January

Image from a memo to President Trump

In late January, President Trump's economic adviser Peter Navarro warned his White House colleagues the novel coronavirus could take more than half a million American lives and cost close to $6 trillion, according to memos obtained by Axios.

By late February, Navarro was even more alarmed, and he warned his colleagues, in another memo, that up to two million Americans could die of the virus.

Driving the news: Navarro's grim estimates are set out in two memos — one dated Jan. 29 and addressed to the National Security Council, the other dated Feb. 23 and addressed to the president. The NSC circulated both memos around the White House and multiple agencies.

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