Embattled Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook can't be fired by President Trump over allegations of mortgage fraud -- because she already fessed up to discrepancies in her home loan paperwork while she was being vetted by the Biden administration ahead of her confirmation in 2022, her lawyers say.
Trump announced Aug. 25 that he was removing Cook from the Fed board over claims she improperly listed both an Atlanta condo and a Michigan home as her primary residence to receive more favorable home loan terms.
In addition, Cook is accused of putting her Cambridge, Mass. condo down as a rental property on government ethics forms while calling it a "second home" on mortgage papers, according to Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte.
Cook attorney Abbe Lowell -- who notably represented Hunter Biden in two criminal cases involving the then-first son -- fired back in court papers filed Tuesday in DC federal court.
"[T]he Government has long known about the alleged facial inconsistencies in Governor Cook's financial documents," said Lowell, who confirmed that Cook stated on a background check form submitted as part of her vetting that the Michigan house was her primary residence and her Georgia condo was her "2nd home."
On another document, Cook listed both abodes, as well as her Massachusetts condo, as her "present residence," while specifying the Michigan home was her "current permanent residence" and the Cambridge condo was both a second home and a rental property.
"If those are facial contradictions, as the Government and President claim ..." Lowell wrote. "Senators or White House advisors could have inquired of her about any alleged 'facial inconsistencies.'"
"Governor Cook's alleged 'contradictions' were included in documents disclosed to the White House before she was appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate," the attorney summed up. "During her Senate confirmation process, Governor Cook submitted questionnaires and provided reports that would have revealed the same purported 'facial' contradictions the Government now claims are 'cause' to fire her ... As the Government rightly acknowledges, such pre-office conduct 'that was known at the time' likely cannot constitute a legitimate basis for President Trump's removal of Governor Cook."
It's not "pre-office conduct." She is currently benefiting from the reduced mortgage interest rates she obtained through fraud on a bank (and the American people). She has not repaired her fraud or repaid the additional interest she'd have paid if not for the fraud.
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At a hearing that lasted more than two hours, Lowell argued any problem with Cook's mortgage paperwork was simply a "clerical error."
Biden appointed her as a Federal Bank Governor claiming she was a highly sophisticated financial expert, and now her lawyer is claiming that when she repeatedly falsified her mortgage applications for three different properties, she just didn't know what she was doing.