It looks like President Donald Trump’s strategy for going after Federal Reserve board of governors member Lisa Cook has just been derailed big time. Court documents seemingly clear Cook of accusations championed by the Trump administration. Now, the legal battle between her and the president is getting juicier than anyone could’ve imagined.
Suggested Reading
We previously reported that Cook, who was appointed in 2022, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for wrongful termination. The president accused her of mortgage fraud, which justified her firing, but Cook continues to deny these claims…hence her lawsuit in response.
A criminal referral by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte reads that Cook “falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, potentially committing mortgage fraud under the criminal statue.” It continued, “This has included falsifying residence statuses for an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based residence and an Atlanta, Georgia-based property.”
Pulte and Trump accused Cook, the first Black woman to ever serve on the Fed’s board of governors, of failing to properly list the true purpose of her many homes. According to them, Cook passed off her Atlanta property as her main residence for financial gain, but recent court documents say something very different.
Documents obtained by NBC News revealed the central bank board member did in fact declare her Atlanta house would be used as a “vacation” home… not her primary home. These new documents could serve to vindicate Cook, who was temporarily reinstated to her position last week, as The Root reported. Further review of Fulton County records showed additional allegations that Cook sought tax exemptions for her “primary residence” to be completely false.
A second document reported that Cook’s “questionnaire for national security positions” — a document reviewed by the Biden administration in 2021 and by the Senate — clearly identified the Atlanta home as Cook’s “2nd home.” So far, no released documents have verified Trump’s claims against her.
Critics argued Trump went after Cook — one of seven board members — in hopes of gaining more control of the board ahead of their highly anticipated Sep. 16 meeting. That’s when the central bank is expected to vote on interest rates, USA Today reported. Trump has publicly targeted Cook as well as Fed chair Jerome Powell over the matter.
Even with the new documents essentially clearing Cook of any wrongdoing, the Trump administration doubled down on Cook’s removal. A Sunday (Sep. 14) filing by the administration read, “The public and the Executive share an interest in ensuring the integrity of the Federal Reserve, and that requires respecting the President’s statutory authority to remove Governors ‘for cause’ when such cause arises.”
Cook’s attorneys argued her removal from the board would “mark an immediate end” to the well-established precedent protecting the central bank’s independence. Additionally, they said firing Cook “would send a destabilizing signal to the financial markets that could not be easily undone.”
Straight From 
Sign up for our free daily newsletter.