Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell declined Wednesday to comment on the ongoing legal battle between Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook and the Trump administration over her role at the central bank.
"I see it as a court case that it would be inappropriate for me to comment on," Powell said when asked at the conclusion of the two-day Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.
The Federal Reserve has previously acknowledged the potential legal feud and wrote in an Aug. 26 statement that the Fed will "abide by any court decision."
On Tuesday, the Trump administration vowed to take its fight over Cook to the Supreme Court after a lower court blocked the president’s effort to dismiss her. The move was the latest in a string of attempts to dismiss her from the Fed board ahead of the FOMC rate-setting meeting.
At the heart of the legal fight are unsubstantiated allegations of mortgage fraud against Cook, raised by Bill Pulte, a Trump appointee to the agency overseeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
LISA COOK’S THREE HOME LOANS AT CENTER OF TRUMP FIGHT OVER FEDERAL RESERVE SEAT
Pulte tied Cook to a trio of properties in Michigan, Georgia and Massachusetts, which prompted scrutiny over whether Cook had misrepresented how the homes would be used. The three mortgage loans were issued in 2021, before she was nominated by former President Joe Biden to join the Fed board.
A loan estimate for the Atlanta home purchased by Cook, reviewed by Reuters, shows she declared the property as a "vacation home" in 2021, a detail that undercuts the Trump administration’s accusations.
Pulte made two separate referrals to the Justice Department over those mortgage applications.
President Donald Trump seized on those allegations and ousted Cook on Aug. 25, which prompted her to sue him in federal court three days later. Her lawsuit did not address the allegations about the multiple homes listed as a primary residence.
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The Justice Department opened a criminal investigation on Sept. 4 into Cook over allegations of mortgage application fraud. Her lawyer, Abbe Lowell, wrote in a filing on Sept. 2 that she "did not ever commit mortgage fraud."
