Former Trump economic advisor Stephen Moore told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Tuesday that the dismissal of allegations against former Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook is “ridiculous.”
President Donald Trump announced Monday that Cook would be relieved from her position, alleging the former Fed employee signed documents claiming residency in two different states. While discussing Cook’s termination on CNN’s “The Lead,” Tapper asked Moore for his take and whether he is concerned about Trump’s “pressure campaign” against Cook. (RELATED: Fed Governor Defies Trump, Refuses To Step Down After He Says, ‘You’re Fired’)
“Well, a couple of things. I mean, first of all, with respect to this particular case, Paul Krugman just said this is like cheating on a third grade exam. I mean, that’s ridiculous. This is a very serious problem,” Moore said. “By the way, I believe she’s innocent until proven guilty. Let me be clear about that. But if she is guilty of this, it’s a big deal, especially for someone on the Federal Reserve Board.”
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“We know from what happened in the housing crisis in 2008 that a major cause of so many of these mortgages going under was that people cheated and lied on their mortgage application forms,” Moore added. “In fact, this is one of the things that people did. They would claim more than one principal residence. So this is not a minor crime at all.”
On Truth Social Wednesday, Trump called for Cook’s resignation after Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte said he would refer her to the Department of Justice (DOJ) over allegations of mortgage fraud. In a letter, Trump listed those allegations.
“For example, as detailed in the Criminal Referral, you signed one document attesting that a property in Michigan would be your primary residence for the next year,” Trump wrote. “Two weeks later, you signed another document for a property in Georgia stating that it would be your primary residence for the next year. It is inconceivable that you were not aware of your first commitment when making the second. It is impossible that you intended to honor both.”
Tapper pushed back against Moore and said Cook had not been formally charged by the DOJ “with anything.”
“Right,” Moore responded. “But it’s also true that she has these allegations against her, and it’s pretty easy for her to just put this to rest by just showing us how it is that this happened, that she had two applications. Was it carelessness? She’s been pretty mum about this. In other words, let’s see some form of evidence that she didn’t do this.”
Cook was nominated to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in 2022 by former President Joe Biden, reportedly at the recommendation of then-Democrat Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown. The mortgage fraud allegations against her are not the first of their kind, as the DOJ is also investigating Democratic California Sen. Adam Schiff over similar allegations.
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