Trump appoints committee to revive quest to remove Lisa Cook from Fed board

President Donald Trump has formed a White House committee to investigate Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, escalating even further a lengthy feud with the Federal Reserve Board member.

The three-member committee will seek evidence that Cook made false statements in obtaining a mortgage and will hold a closed-door hearing at the White House on Nov. 5, two days after the midterm elections, according to a presidential memorandum. The memorandum is dated Oct. 7 but was published to the White House website Friday.

Trump tried to fire Cook last year after Bill Pulte, then the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, alleged she lied on a mortgage form to obtain a more favorable rate. A U.S. Supreme Court decision in June found Trump did not have cause to remove Cook from the independent board. 

The president tasked the committee with finding enough evidence of wrongdoing to meet the court’s standard for firing. 

“As President, it is my job to ensure the laws are faithfully executed, including by firing subordinates who cannot be trusted to tell the truth and follow the law,” Trump wrote.

Attorneys for Cook said Trump’s record of trying to fire Cook raised major concerns that the process would be illegitimate.

The committee will be composed of Assistant to the President for Economic Policy Kevin Hassett, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chair Andrea Lucas and acting Director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics Keith Sonderling. They are permitted to “consult with appropriate personnel from executive branch departments and agencies, including the Department of Justice.”

The memorandum calls for Cook to be present for questioning at the Nov. 5 hearing. She is also permitted to submit a written statement to the committee. The memorandum also calls for Cook to comply with the committee’s requests for documents or other evidentiary material.

Cook can also submit another written statement up to five days after the hearing.

The committee will then write its own report with a recommendation to Trump on “whether there is cause to remove Governor Cook.” 

Cook’s attorneys Abbe Lowell and Norm Eisen said in a statement that an objective investigation would show no wrongdoing, and that Cook looked forward to clearing her name.

“In light of the President’s repeated statements that he has already decided to fire Governor Cook – regardless of the facts and evidence -  we have grave doubts that this ‘hearing’ is a legitimate one that would conform to the law,” they wrote. “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.” 

Trump has squabbled with Cook and former Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whom he appointed and who still serves on the board, over interest rates that the president believes should be lower to stimulate the economy. 

He has used legal investigations to pressure Cook and Powell, including a probe into Powell’s oversight of a Fed headquarters renovation.