#mortgage-fraud-allegations

#mortgage-fraud-allegations

This marks the second setback for Trump in the dispute. In September, a federal appeals court denied his last-minute attempt to block Cook from participating in the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. Trump has repeatedly pressured the Fed, including Chair Jerome Powell, to cut rates. On Sept. 17, the Fed lowered its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points, the first cut since December 2024.

The day before, ABC News reported that Trump officials had informed Siebert of the president's intention to fire him. The president was reportedly leaning on Siebert to bring charges against James after the administration accused her of falsely claiming her house in Virginia as her primary residence despite being legally required to live in New York as the state's attorney general.

Reuters also reported that Cook never requested a tax exemption for the Georgia home as a primary residence, according to property records and a Fulton County tax official. The condo loan estimate contradicts the claim by FHFA Director Bill Pulte in a criminal referral to Attorney General Pam Bondi on Aug. 15 that Cook falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, potentially committing mortgage fraud under the criminal statute.

U.S. Senator Adam Schiff, the top prosecutor in President Donald Trumps impeachment trial in 2019 and who has long been a prime target of the president, recently started a legal defense fund amid talks of an investigation by the Department of Justice into his finances. It's clear that Donald Trump and his MAGA allies will continue weaponizing the justice process to attack Senator Schiff for holding this corrupt administration accountable, Marisol Samayoa, a spokesperson for the California Democrat, said in a statement.