Lisa Cook, the embattled member of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors who is attempting to keep her job after being fired by President Donald Trump over fraud allegations, is now admitting that she made “errors” on mortgage documents.
Earlier this week, Trump penned a letter to Cook stating that the Federal Reserve Act empowers him to remove members of the board based on allegations of criminal wrongdoing.
“As set forth in the Criminal Referral dated August 15, 2025, from Mr. William J. Pulte, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to Ms. Pamela Bondi, Attorney General of the United States…there is sufficient reason to believe you may have made false statements on one or more mortgage agreements,” Trump wrote. “For example, as detailed in the Criminal Referral, you signed one document attesting that a property in Michigan would be your primary residence for the next year.
“Two weeks later, you signed another document for a property in Georgia stating that it would be your primary residence for the next year,” the president continued. “It is inconceivable that you were not aware of your first commitment when making the second. It is impossible that you intended to honor both.”
Trump went on to claim that Cook’s “deceitful and potentially criminal conduct” exhibits “the sort of gross negligence in financial transactions that calls into question your competence and trustworthiness as a financial regulator.”
Cook has denied the allegations and has claimed that the president has no power to fire her, setting up a high-stakes legal battle between the White House and the Federal Reserve. The embattled board member has enlisted the services of high-powered Attorney Abbe Lowell, whose current high-profile candidates include New York Attorney General Letitia James and, according to reports from the New York Times, former National Security Adviser John Bolton, in order to represent her in her lawsuit against the Trump Administration.
One part of the documents filed in the suit suggests that the issue at hand regarding documents Cook submitted for home loans may have been caused by a “clerical error” on her part, according to a report from CNBC. While acknowledging the “mistake,” Cook is claiming that her conduct does constitute a criminal offense worthy of removing her from office.
The complaint mostly focuses on rules outlined in the Federal Reserve Act that state Fed officials can only be removed for “cause,” a matter that is likely to be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. Cook has maintained that her conduct does not constitute grounds for removal and has accused the Trump Administration of displaying political bias.
“It is clear from the circumstances surrounding Governor Cook’s purported removal from the Federal Reserve Board that the mortgage allegations against her are pretextual,” the suit states. “This allegation about conduct that predates Governor Cook’s Senate confirmation has never been investigated, much less proven. This allegation is not grounds for removal under the” act.
In addition to the effort to remove Cook, the Justice Department is currently investigating allegations of mortgage fraud on the part of New York Attorney General Letitia James and Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA).
