Fed judge blocks Trump’s temporary dismissal of Fed director Lisa Cook
President Donald Trump said there was “sufficient cause” to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook over allegations of mortgage fraud.
ProPublica reported that President Donald Trump had made mortgage deals that closely resembled loans he called potentially criminal “mortgage fraud” in an accusation leveled at several of his targets.
In late 1993 and early 1994, President Trump claimed on mortgage loans that two properties he owned in Florida were each his primary residence, even though he was living in New York at the time, according to a report by the nonprofit investigative journalism group. The article cited contemporary news articles and interviews with Trump’s longtime real estate agent.
White House officials said in a statement to USA TODAY that the two mortgages were made by the same lender and that it is “illogical to believe that the same lender would consent to fraud.”
“This is yet another desperate attempt by the left-wing media to denigrate President Trump with false claims and distract the nation from his historic first year in office,” the official said. “President Trump has never and will never break any laws.”
In recent months, members of the Trump administration have leveled accusations of mortgage fraud against multiple critics and targets of the president.
Trump himself sent a letter to Federal Reserve President Lisa Cook claiming that within weeks he had signed a document stating that properties in Michigan and Georgia would each be his primary residence for the next year. He said it was “inconceivable” that she did not know about the first promise when she made the second one, and that it was “impossible” that she intended to keep both.
But just seven weeks after pledging to make his second property in Florida his primary residence, Trump committed to making his first property his primary residence, according to a report from ProPublica. Even if the pledges in the 1990s documents amounted to a crime, the legal deadline for prosecution for mortgage fraud has passed.
In a letter, President Trump said Cook’s alleged actions were “deceptive and potentially criminal” and that he was firing him. This action triggered a legal battle with Cook that continues to this day. The Supreme Court ruled in October that Cook may remain in office for the time being, and oral arguments on the issue are scheduled for January.
In an earlier statement to USA TODAY following reports that the Justice Department had opened an investigation into allegations of mortgage fraud against Cook, Cook’s attorney, Abby Rowell, said her client committed no wrongdoing in the way her properties were listed, “but nothing was needed for the Department of Justice to launch another politicized investigation, and it appears they have done it again.”
Cook is not the only person Trump administration officials have targeted over allegations of mortgage-related crimes.
The Trump administration’s Justice Department has repeatedly pursued charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James, who filed a civil lawsuit against Trump in 2022. The department is charging him with bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution for allegedly renting out a home he bought in Virginia after telling the lender it would become his second home.
ProPublica reported that President Trump had leased both properties in Florida and would use them as his primary residence.
The original federal grand jury indictment against James was dropped in November after a judge ruled that Attorney General Pam Bondi illegally appointed the prosecutor who secured the indictment, former President Trump’s personal attorney Lindsey Harrigan. On December 4, a federal grand jury declined to indict James again, according to multiple media reports. James called the charges against her “baseless” and said, “It’s time to stop the unchecked weaponization of our justice system.”
The Trump administration has also reportedly opened a mortgage-related investigation into California Democrats Sen. Adam Schiff and Rep. Eric Swalwell. Schiff served on a Congressional committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters. Swalwell was the House manager for President Trump’s second impeachment trial, which also included the January 6 attack.
Trump himself accused Schiff of mortgage fraud on social media in July, claiming that Schiff had listed his Maryland home as his primary residence, even though as a lawmaker from California he was required to live in California. President Trump said in a social media post in September that Schiff was “thoroughly guilty” and should be prosecuted.
Mr. Schiff and Mr. Swalwell have both denied wrongdoing and called the investigation political.
