President Donald Trump stepped up his efforts to reshape the Federal Reserve on Aug. 25 by announcing he was firing the body’s governor Lisa Cook, a leading economist appointed to the position by former President Joe Biden.
In a letter shared on social media, Trump claimed “sufficient cause” to remove Cook immediately, pointing to accusations that Cook made false statements on mortgage agreements.
Cook said in a statement released by her lawyer Aug. 26 that “no causes exist under the law” and that Trump “has no authority” to remove her from the job.
The president’s mortgage fraud accusations against Cook mark the third time he has blamed a political rival, or official he has publicly sparred with, of the crime.
Live updates: Trump fires Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. What’s next.
What are Trump’s mortgage fraud accusations?
William Pulte, the Trump-appointed director of the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency, on Aug. 15 referred Cook to the Justice Department on allegations that she “potentially” committed mortgage fraud. In a letter he posted on X, Pulte said the Federal Reserve governor had named two different properties as her primary residence on loan applications in 2021.
In Trump’s Aug. 25 letter firing Cook, he pointed to Pulte’s criminal referral, calling it “sufficient reason to believe” Cook “may have made false statements” on mortgage documents. Criminal referrals are often used by agencies to recommend the Justice Department investigate suspected criminal activity. They are not charges or convictions.
Cook has previously said she has “no intention of being bullied to step down.” After Trump asked her to resign on Aug. 20, Cook said she was gathering information to answer “any legitimate questions and provide the facts.”
Peter Conti-Brown, a scholar of the Fed’s history at the University of Pennsylvania, told Reuters that the mortgage transactions preceded her appointment to the Fed.
“These officials have been vetted by our President and our Senate. That means that all things that they had done during their times as a private citizen were already vetted,” Conti-Brown said.
More: Trump said he fired a Fed Gov. She said she’s not stepping down. Who is Lisa Cook?
Trump accused Sen. Adam Schiff of similar mortgage fraud
Cook is not the first figure Trump has accused of mortgage-related fraud. One of the Republican president’s biggest congressional rivals, Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA), recently launched a legal fund in the face of his own Trump-led legal battles.
On July 15, Trump said on social media that federal authorities “concluded that Adam Schiff has engaged in a sustained pattern of possible Mortgage Fraud.” The accusation is that Schiff claimed a primary residence in Maryland to get a cheaper mortgage interest rate in addition to his California residence required to serve in Congress.
Schiff has denied wrongdoing and called the mortgage investigation “a bit of a letdown” after the more serious allegations Trump leveled at him. Schiff consulted with House counsel and mortgage lenders in declaring the Maryland home occupied in 2003 a “primary residence,” rather than a vacation or investment property, in addition to his California residence, according to a source familiar with the declaration, USA TODAY previously reported.
Trump has called Schiff “shifty” and a “scam artist” who should be arrested for treason after leading the first impeachment during the president’s first term.
“This baseless attempt at political retribution won’t stop me from holding him accountable,” Schiff said on social media in July, referring to Trump. “Not by a long shot.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James also accused by Trump
On April 14, Pulte accused the New York Attorney General, Letitia James, of falsifying bank documents and property records in multiple instances to acquire government-backed assistance loans and more favorable loan terms. In May, the Justice Department opened a separate investigation into James over real estate transactions, multiple news outlets reported.
James is suing the Trump administration over cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services and executive actions pertaining to elections that she says are unconstitutional. She secured a half-billion-dollar civil fraud judgment against Trump last year, though the penalty was thrown out by an appeals court on Aug. 21. Trump has called the attorney general a “totally corrupt politician” and “wacky crook” who should immediately resign social media posts.
Pulte alleged in the April Department of Justice referral that James potentially misrepresented property descriptions and claimed her primary residential status as Norfolk. He cited “media reports” as the basis.
In response, James’ lawyer, Abbe Lowell, sent a letter to the Department of Justice arguing the accusations against James are meritless and motivated by Trump’s personal animus towards James.
Contributing: Bailey Schulz, Bart Jansen and Josh Meyer, USA TODAY.
Kathryn Palmer is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kapalmer@usatoday.com and on X @KathrynPlmr.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump adds Lisa Cook to list of those he accuses of mortgage fraud
