Lisa Cook challenges fairness of Trump White House removal hearing

Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook’s lawyer has challenged the fairness of a White House panel created by President Donald Trump to examine allegations against her, while leaving open the possibility that she could participate at a later date.

In a letter sent Tuesday, October 13, attorney Abbe Lowell called the committee “demonstrably biased” and said Cook could not attend its scheduled November 5 hearing because she would be carrying out official duties at financial and monetary policy meetings in Europe. The Associated Press reported the letter on Wednesday, October 14, and CNBC separately reported Lowell’s objections to the panel’s fairness.

Cook seeks a later hearing

Lowell said the earliest Cook could appear would be after the Federal Reserve’s December 8–9 policy meeting, according to the AP. His letter went to William Scharf, counsel to the president. It did not categorically refuse to take part, but it raised concerns about the panel’s members, the disclosure of evidence and the timetable for the proceeding.

The lawyer specifically pointed to Kevin Hassett, Trump’s top economic adviser and one of the panel’s three members. Hassett has already said he believes Trump has cause to remove Cook, the AP reported. The other members are Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chair Andrea Rich, both Trump appointees.

CNBC’s report highlighted a separate public statement by Trump describing Cook as an “automatic no vote.” Lowell cited such comments and the members’ prior positions as reasons to question whether the process could provide an impartial assessment. The White House had not announced a change to the November 5 schedule by Wednesday evening.

What Trump’s memorandum requires

Trump established the committee in an October 7 presidential memorandum. The document directs it to investigate allegations that Cook made false statements connected to one or more mortgage instruments and to recommend whether there is legal cause to remove her from the Federal Reserve Board.

The memorandum schedules a closed, transcribed hearing at the White House for November 5, lasting no more than four hours. It says Cook may submit written evidence, witness statements and legal arguments, and requires the committee to provide the evidence it is considering before the hearing. It also allows Cook to file a post-hearing statement by November 10 before the panel sends findings and a recommendation to Trump.

Those provisions are the administration’s attempt to provide notice and an opportunity to respond after the Supreme Court allowed Cook to remain in office while litigation over Trump’s earlier removal attempt continued. The court did not decide whether the mortgage allegations amount to “cause” under the Federal Reserve Act.

Allegations remain disputed

Trump has accused Cook of mortgage fraud involving transactions from 2021, before she joined the Fed’s Board of Governors. Cook has denied wrongdoing. No criminal charge has been filed, and the committee’s inquiry is an administrative process rather than a criminal trial.

Cook was appointed by President Joe Biden and became the first Black woman to serve on the Fed board. Federal law permits a president to remove a governor “for cause,” but no president has previously removed one. The dispute therefore carries implications beyond Cook’s job: economists and central-bank observers are watching whether the process changes the longstanding separation between monetary-policy decisions and White House political control.

Trump has repeatedly pressed the Fed to lower interest rates. That policy disagreement does not resolve the factual mortgage allegations, but it forms part of the broader context in which Cook’s lawyers are challenging the panel’s independence. For now, the concrete development is procedural: Cook has requested a delay, disputed the committee’s neutrality and preserved the possibility of appearing after the Fed’s December meeting.

Sources and image credit

Reporting: Associated Press via PBS NewsHour and ABC News; independent coverage by CNBC. Primary record: President Trump’s October 7 committee memorandum.

Image: Official Federal Reserve portrait of Governor Lisa D. Cook, June 29, 2022; via Wikimedia Commons, public domain. Original Federal Reserve source. Reformatted to a 16:9 canvas; no text added.