More illegal shit

Trump sets up committee to investigate, potentially remove the Fed's Lisa Cook

“As President, it is my job to ensure the laws are faithfully executed, including by firing subordinates who cannot be trusted to tell the truth and follow the law,” he wrote in a memo.

By Gregory Svirnovskiy and Victoria Guida

President Donald Trump established a committee of inquiry to investigate whether Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook made “false statements in connection with one or more mortgage instruments,” his latest effort to remove her from the central bank.

“As President, it is my job to ensure the laws are faithfully executed, including by firing subordinates who cannot be trusted to tell the truth and follow the law,” Trump wrote in a memo.

The president has long sought to remove Cook from her post, alongside an ill-fated push to force the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates. But the Supreme Court blocked his last attempt, ruling that the administration had not provided her due process.

The announcement comes after the Fed’s inspector general found last week that there was no grounds for the Justice Department to reopen a criminal investigation into the Fed’s headquarter renovations, which could have served as an avenue to remove former Chair Jerome Powell from the Fed board.

But the move against Cook makes clear that he has not abandoned his effort to find ways to remove Fed officials.

According to Trump, the new committee will meet at the White House on Nov. 5 to “consider the evidence and allegations against Governor Cook.”

The Fed declined to comment. In a statement, Cook’s attorneys cast doubt on the legitimacy of the panel and repeated her innocence.

“In light of the President’s repeated statements that he has already decided to fire Governor Cook — regardless of the facts and evidence — we have grave doubts that this ‘hearing’ is a legitimate one that would conform to the law,” Abbe Lowell and Norm Eisen said. “We have engaged with the White House to evaluate whether the process proposed has a possibility of being a genuine one and not simply a box checking exercise.”

After the November hearing, it will present its findings to the president and “shall recommend whether there is cause to remove Governor Cook from her position on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve,” the president wrote.

The Supreme Court blocked Trump’s first major effort to oust Cook in June, ruling that she had not been afforded due process. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined the court’s three liberals in the 5-4 decision allowing Cook to remain in post.

The facts of whether Cook committed mortgage fraud have not yet been litigated, though she and her lawyer have denied the president’s accusations, including in response to an August letter from Dan Scavino, who heads the Office of Presidential Personnel.

If Trump makes a second attempt to remove Cook, a court ruling on the merits of Trump’s argument could set a precedent on the circumstances under which a Fed board member can be fired, which is legally allowed when there is “cause.”

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, who initially referred Cook’s mortgage documents to the Justice Department, signaled the fight wasn’t over in June: “As I have repeatedly said, I believe Lisa Cook will be indicted for mortgage fraud,” he wrote.

The committee’s members will include Kevin Hassett, the assistant to the president for economic policy; Andrea Lucas, chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; and Keith Sonderling, the acting director of the Office of Government Ethics, Trump wrote.

Lucas, the EEOC chair who Trump nominated to the agency during his first term and appointed to the top job last year, has led efforts to pursue the president’s agenda against diversity, equity and inclusion practices in the workplace.

Sonderling, who is both the acting director of the Office of Government Ethics as well as acting Labor secretary, was the favored pick to lead Trump’s workforce policy among business advocates — a group who are also weary of the administration’s investigations into Cook and broader pressure campaign against Fed leadership.

The Fed unanimously voted to raise interest rates in September in response to inflation that has stayed stubbornly high, in part because of soaring energy costs driven by the war in Iran. Central bankers also signaled that they are likely to hike borrowing costs at least once more this year.