In an extraordinary ramping-up of his ongoing efforts to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, President Donald Trump has ordered a committee to investigate mortgage fraud allegations against her, culminating in a closed-door, in-person hearing at the White House next month.
The move, laid out in a memo signed by the president and announced on Friday, creates a three-person “committee of inquiry” to hear the charges against Cook and allow her an opportunity to respond at the Nov. 5 hearing.
“Governor Cook shall appear at the hearing and be examined by the Committee, its representatives, and her legal counsel, if any,” Trump’s memo states.
No president prior to Trump had ever attempted to remove a Federal Reserve governor in the 112-year history of the central bank. The law allows for a governor’s removal “for cause,” but that term is not defined in the statute.
Trump’s memo directs the panel to provide him with “written findings of fact and conclusions of law,” along with a recommendation of “whether there is cause to remove Governor Cook.”
The committee will be composed of top Trump economic adviser Kevin Hassett, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chair Andrea Lucas and Keith Sonderling, the acting director of the Office of Government Ethics.
Trump’s memo sets the terms of the panel’s review and allows Cook to “present argument, written evidence, and written witness statements regarding the evidence and allegations.”
The announcement of the hearing comes more than three months after the Supreme Court rejected Trump’s initial attempt to fire Cook, with Chief Justice John Roberts writing for a divided court that a final decision on Cook’s dismissal could only be made after she “has had the opportunity to respond to the charges made against her.”
Cook sued Trump to block his ill-fated attempt to fire her last year over the mortgage fraud allegations, insisting she has committed no wrongdoing. Her attorneys claim Trump’s attempt to oust her was based on her refusal to lower rates.
Lawyers for Cook said in a statement that they have “grave doubts” that the hearing will prove to be legitimate and legal.
“But if it is anything close to objective, the conclusion will be that Governor Cook did not commit mortgage fraud, leaving no cause to remove her from the Federal Reserve Board,” Cook’s attorneys, Abbe Lowell and Norm Eisen, said in their statement.
Cook’s lawyers says they’re evaluating whether the process laid out by Trump’s order “has a possibility of being a genuine one and not simply a box checking exercise.”
“Governor Cook welcomes the opportunity to present the facts so she can clear her name and demonstrate there is no legal basis to fire her,” the attorneys said.
Trump’s order says the hearing will be closed to the public but transcribed.
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