Trump Sacks Fed Governor Over Mortgage Fraud Allegations
US President Donald Trump has been trying to sack Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook for over a year, an unprecedented effort widely seen as part of a broader assault on the US central bank's independence. Cook's lawyer, Abbe David Lowell, has now responded to accusations of mortgage fraud that Trump asserts provide cause to fire her.
In a letter to the White House, Lowell said there is no legally cognizable cause for removing Cook from the Federal Reserve Board. He stated that Governor Cook has never committed mortgage fraud or any intentional wrongdoing.
The allegations against Cook were first levied last August by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte and amplified by Trump on social media. Cook denied any wrongdoing, calling the allegations a pretext to remove her for monetary policy differences, and she sued to keep her job.
Earlier this month, the White House took a fresh run at Trump's firing effort, telling Cook in a letter that the president was considering removing her due to there being sufficient reason to believe that she made false statements on one or more mortgage agreements.