Trump Puts Lisa Cook On Notice He Wants to Fire Her Again — Following Supreme Court Ruling

(Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP photo)

President Donald Trump reignited his bid to remove Lisa Cook as a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors this week.

A letter signed by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino and sent to Cook by the White House on Wednesday indicates the president is “considering” Cook’s removal. Trump previously tried to remove Cook last year.

The letter was shared on social media by PBS News Hour’s White House Correspondent Liz Landers.

Scavino’s letter indicates allegations of mortgage fraud against Cook “may be sufficient to demonstrate that you committed a crime, as you appear to have acquired mortgages that do not meet certain lending requirements and could have received favorable loan terms under fraudulent circumstances.”

“Based on these facts, a jury could find that you intended to defraud these institutions for your own benefit, but at a minimum, this conduct was grossly negligent and demonstrates that you are unfit for the office in which you serve as a controlling member of the Federal Reserve,” the letter also reads.

“These allegations are as baseless now as they were a year ago when President Trump tried to remove Governor Cook and interfere with the independence of the Federal Reserve,” attorneys for Cook told The New York Times in a statement. “No matter what President Trump tries to do next, this much is clear under the facts and Supreme Court precedent — there is no valid cause for removing Governor Cook. As we did before, we will challenge this latest pretext and preserve her position and the historic role of the Fed.”

Removing  Cook would give Trump the opportunity to replace her with someone more aligned with his administration and policies.

The Supreme Court ruled in June that the president does not have the authority to remove Cook from her post in that case, which Trump is clearly trying to relitigate with different circumstances. Bill Pulte initially claimed Cook used a condo in Atlanta as her primary residence two weeks after she took out a loan on a home in Michigan and also declared it her primary residence.

“I learned from the media that FHFA Director William Pulte posted on social media that he was making a criminal referral based on a mortgage application from four years ago, before I joined the Federal Reserve,” Cook said in a statement at the time. “I have no intention of being bullied to step down from my position because of some questions raised in a tweet. I do intend to take any questions about my financial history seriously as a member of the Federal Reserve, and so I am gathering the accurate information to answer any legitimate questions and provide the facts.”

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