Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, posted a criminal referral alleging Lisa Cook falsified documents to obtain favorable mortgage terms on two homes claimed as primary residences. The referral alleges a Michigan home and an Atlanta condominium were each represented as Cook's principal residence for separate loans. There is no allegation that either loan has been defaulted on. The move occurs amid wider political efforts to challenge Federal Reserve leadership, including rapid confirmation pushes and prior claims about Fed renovation cost overruns, with the aim of installing officials favoring looser monetary policy.
Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, posted on X a letter to the attorney general stating that it appears Cook "has falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, potentially committing mortgage fraud under the criminal statutes." She took out a mortgage on a Michigan house represented to be her principal residence, and shortly thereafter a loan on an Atlanta condominium that was also described as her principal residence, according to Pulte's letter.
We saw the first glimpses of the strategy last month, with claims that Powell lied to Congress and/or violated the law through changes and cost overruns on the Fed's $2.5 billion renovation project. Between the lines: Trump and his allies are trying to establish the predicate to fire Fed governors for cause so that they can put in place leadership who will deliver the looser monetary policy Trump demands - and act with less independence from the president's desires going forward.
There is no accusation or evidence that Cook has defaulted on either loan. Pulte has used the same tactic to pursue prominent Trump antagonists, namely California Sen. Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James, both Democrats. President Trump posted Wednesday morning on Truth Social that "Cook must resign, now"
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