The heart of President Trump’s attempts to fire Lisa D. Cook from the Federal Reserve is a set of accusations about mortgage fraud. Ms. Cook and her lawyers have denied the allegations, and furnished evidence to rebut them, and she has never been charged with a crime.
The situation began in August, when Bill Pulte, who runs the Federal Housing Finance Agency, alleged that Ms. Cook made a series of misrepresentations to lenders in order to obtain more favorable mortgage terms on several properties. Banks tend to offer buyers of primary residences lower interest rates than those buying vacation homes or investment properties, under the assumption that people will prioritize paying the mortgage on their main residence.
Mr. Pulte focused on two of Ms. Cook’s residences in particular — one in Ann Arbor, Mich., and another in Atlanta — that were purchased before Ms. Cook had been installed as a governor at the Fed. Mr. Pulte claimed that Ms. Cook had listed both as a primary residence, potentially in pursuit of obtaining a lower interest rate for her loans.
But records and other documents that surfaced in recent months — some presented by Ms. Cook’s lawyers — have cast serious doubt over the Trump administration’s claims.
In letters and court filings, lawyers for Ms. Cook said last year that the home in Ann Arbor was indeed her primary residence, and she resided there until 2011, when she relocated to Washington before returning in 2012. She later rented out the property.
Ms. Cook’s lawyers said that a second property, in Atlanta, had been properly characterized as a “vacation home” or a second home on documents furnished with a lender and provided to Congress. They said indications to the contrary surfaced by Mr. Pulte reflected an “inadvertent notation,” and not an attempt to defraud.
Nevertheless, Mr. Trump and his advisers seized on the evidence as legal grounds to dismiss Ms. Cook for “cause” last year, given her role overseeing the financial sector and monetary policy. Ms. Cook’s lawyers maintain that they were never given a proper hearing with the president to share their evidence and explanation.
Tony Romm is a reporter covering economic policy and the Trump administration for The Times, based in Washington.
The post What Is Lisa Cook, the Fed Governor, Accused of Doing? appeared first on New York Times.
