The Department of Justice has launched a criminal probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook over mortgage fraud allegations.
The investigation comes days after Cook filed a lawsuit against President Trump’s move to remove her from the position. In recent weeks, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte has also issued two criminal referrals for Cook.
Officials familiar with the probe told The Wall Street Journal that subpoenas have been issued for the case, which is being conducted by DOJ official Ed Martin.
Citing the Federal Reserve Act, Trump wrote in a letter addressed to Cook last month, “You are hereby removed from your position on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, effective immediately.”
“The American people must be able to have full confidence in the honesty of the members entrusted with setting policy and overseeing the Federal Reserve. In light of your deceitful and potentially criminal conduct in a financial matter, they cannot and I do not have such confidence in your integrity,” Trump’s letter read, concluding, “I have determined that faithfully executing the law requires your immediate removal from office.”
Cook’s lawsuit against Trump argued that her removal is “unprecedented and illegal.”
“President Trump’s conception of ’cause’ has no limiting principle,” the lawsuit said. “It would allow him to remove any Federal Reserve Board member with whom he disagrees about policy based on chalked-up allegations.”
Trump’s effort to remove Cook “would subvert the Federal Reserve Act … which explicitly requires a showing of ’cause’ for a Governor’s removal, which an unsubstantiated allegation about private mortgage applications submitted by Governor Cook prior to her Senate confirmation is not,” the filing added.
