Donald Trump is relentless. The President of the United States is once again attacking Lisa Cook, the Federal Reserve governor who opposes his interference in the body that directs monetary policy. The White House sent a letter last Wednesday to the first Black woman of the Fed informing her that it plans to dismiss her after accusing her without evidence of irregularities in the application for a mortgage to benefit from better financial conditions, according to ABC News.
Read more Ferran Torres, the World Cup hero returns to his town, Foios
The dismissal threat comes a month after the Supreme Court blocked a previous attempt by the Trump Administration to remove her. The Court’s ruling argued that the White House did not prove “just cause.” The Supreme Court judges highlighted in the ruling that the attempt to dismiss Cook was plagued by irregularities on the part of the Government. Although they admit that the president can dismiss her for just cause, they remind that Trump tried to fire her without the affected party receiving a signed letter of dismissal, without having heard her allegations, and without a prior file.
The Trump Administration now sends a letter to try to prove “just cause” with the corresponding notice. The letter is signed by Dan Scavino, one of the White House senior officials, who gives Cook 21 days to respond to the mortgage fraud accusations.
Trump launched his first offensive against Cook in August last year. At that time, he published a letter, without letterhead and unsigned, on social media accusing her of fraud in the application for a mortgage loan. Officially, Cook has not been charged with any crime and all courts that reviewed her case ruled in her favor. The governor, appointed by Joe Biden in 2022 and whose term ends in 2038, sued Trump over the dismissal attempt.
The Supreme Court ruling shielded the autonomy of the Federal Reserve and its officials from the executive power. The ruling stated: “Accepting any of the Trump administration’s arguments would effectively transform the Federal Reserve’s protection against arbitrary dismissal, which requires just cause, into an at-will employment regime; this would be an interpretive leap incompatible with the law enacted by Congress and with our nation’s tradition of maintaining a central bank protected from political interference.”
However, it left the door open to new attacks by Trump against the body responsible for setting the price of money. The U.S. president already warned after the high court’s ruling that he would challenge the decision.
Trump recalls that the Federal Reserve Act allows the president to dismiss officials “for just cause,” a premise that has historically been interpreted as gross negligence.
The Republican leader decided to dismiss the governor after one of his advisers reported that Cook had declared two different homes as her primary residence in 2021, before her appointment to the Fed, on forms to apply for a mortgage loan. Banks usually grant lower interest rates for primary residences as they are considered less risky.
“These accusations are as unfounded now as they were a year ago when President Trump tried to dismiss Governor Cook and interfere with the Federal Reserve’s independence,” Cook’s lawyers told The New York Times. “Regardless of what President Trump tries to do next, it is clear based on the facts and Supreme Court jurisprudence: there is no valid cause to dismiss Governor Cook. As we did before, we will challenge this latest pretext and preserve her position and the historic role of the Federal Reserve.”
The letter sent by Scavino to Cook is full of assumptions and conditionals, is confusing, and raises legal doubts. “The actions of the Federal Reserve governor could be sufficient to show that you committed a crime, as you appear to have acquired mortgages that do not meet certain loan requirements and may have received favorable loan conditions under fraudulent circumstances,” the letter states.
“Based on these facts, a jury could determine that you intended to defraud these institutions for your own benefit, but at a minimum, this conduct was grossly negligent and shows that you are not fit for the position you hold as a voting member of the Federal Reserve,” it adds.
Read more Karol G takes her sad revenge in her new album ‘No Me Arrepiento de Sentir Tanto’
