Josh Wingrove
(Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump called on Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook to resign after a staunch ally called for an investigation of the board member’s mortgages, ramping up pressure on the central bank.
Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate Cook over a pair of mortgages, the latest in a series of moves by the Trump administration to increase legal scrutiny of Democratic figures and appointees.
Trump said Wednesday that Cook “must resign now,” citing Pulte’s allegations, while the FHFA head posted on social media that the accusations give Trump “cause to fire” her.
Pulte wrote a letter to Bondi and DOJ official Ed Martin on Aug. 15 suggesting that Cook may have committed a criminal offense. The letter, which was first reported by Bloomberg News, alleges that Cook “falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, potentially committing mortgage fraud under the criminal statute.”
The Cook referral expands that effort to the Fed, as Trump allies — including Pulte — press the US central bank to lower rates and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to resign before his term as chair expires in May.
Pulte said Cook took a mortgage on a property in Ann Arbor, Michigan, signing a mortgage agreement that stipulated she would use the property as her primary residence for at least a year. Two weeks later, according to the letter, she took another mortgage on a Georgia property and also declared it would be her primary residence.
Pulte also called on Bondi to look into whether Cook misrepresented her circumstances by later listing the Georgia property for rental. The letter includes copies of mortgage documents in Cook’s name, as well as an apparent rental listing from 2022, a little over a year after she bought the Georgia property.
The documents in the referral show that Cook took a $203,000, 15-year mortgage on a property in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 2021. The document included a stipulation that she “shall occupy, establish and use the Property as Borrower’s principal residence within 60 days” and “for at least one year,” unless the lender, the University of Michigan Credit Union, agreed in writing. The document is dated June 18, 2021, and it’s not clear whether the lender agreed to or was aware of her subsequent purchase.
Then, on July 2, 2021, Cook took a separate, 30-year mortgage, for $540,000 on a property in Georgia, according to the referral. Her mortgage loan there, too, has an occupancy clause stating the borrower must make it a primary residence within 60 days and for at least one year.
In his letter to Bondi, Pulte alleges that Cook “appears to have acquired mortgages that do not meet certain lending requirements and could have received favorable loan terms under fraudulent circumstances.”
Pulte cited four criminal statutes for Bondi to investigate for potential charges.
Pulte also sent Bondi what appears to be a rental listing for the same Georgia unit, “indicating that the property was intended to be used as an investment/rental property, and not in fact a primary residence,” according to the letter.
Cook was nominated to the Fed by President Joe Biden and took office in 2022, becoming the first Black woman to serve on the Fed’s board of governors. She was later nominated by Biden for a full term, which expires in 2038.
–With assistance from Amara Omeokwe.
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