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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
Trump has accused Fed Governor Lisa Cook of mortgage fraud. Here’s
what we know
By Samantha Delouya, Bryan Mena, CNN
Updated:
8:58 PM EDT, Mon August 25, 2025
Source: CNN
President Donald Trump said late on Monday that he has fired Federal
Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, citing allegations of mortgage fraud that
haven’t been taken to court. There’s still a lot we don’t know
about the situation.
The firing, in a letter that was also posted to social media, came a
week after Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte alleged
in a letter that she claimed two properties — a home in Ann Arbor,
Michigan, and a condo in Atlanta — as her primary home addresses
within two weeks of purchasing each with financing. Pulte accused her
of having “falsified bank documents and property records.”
The Justice Department said it but hasn’t formally announced any
charges as of Monday evening.
A CNN review of mortgage documents shows that Cook did take out
mortgages for two properties, both of which were listed as her
principal residence. However, it’s not known why she did so or if she
did so intentionally.
President Donald Trump and his allies have , a Michigan State
University economist appointed by former President Joe Biden in 2022,
as part of a campaign to pressure the Fed to lower interest rates.
Trump on Friday told reporters he planned to fire Cook if she didn’t
resign. The president can fire a Fed board member, but only for cause.
In response to Pulte’s accusations, Cook said in a statement that she
has “no intention of being bullied to step down from my position.”
“I do intend to take any questions about my financial history
seriously as a member of the Federal Reserve, and so I am gathering the
accurate information to answer any legitimate questions and provide the
facts,” she said.
Here’s what we know — and what we don’t.
Questions surround two primary residences and a third mortgage
Listing a property as a “primary” residence can come with
advantages. Borrowers can qualify for lower interest rates for a
primary residence, saving money over the life of a loan, to real estate
company Redfin.
In mortgage documents filed in 2021 and reviewed by CNN, Cook pledged
to live in her Ann Arbor home as her primary residence for at least one
year, unless her lender agreed otherwise or unforeseen circumstances
arose.
Just two weeks later, she made the same pledge in mortgage documents
for her Atlanta condo, according to records reviewed by CNN.
Under IRS rules, a person can claim only one primary residence, the
place they live most of the time, per year. The Fed declined to comment
on CNN’s request asking if Cook is currently based in Washington and
whether she rents or owns in the area.
It is unclear whether Cook informed the Ann Arbor lender that she
intended to designate another property as her primary residence in the
same year.
The University of Michigan Credit Union, which issued Cook’s 2021
loan for the Ann Arbor home, did not respond to a request for comment.
Bank-Fund Staff Federal Credit Union, which issued the loan to Cook for
her Atlanta condo, did not respond to multiple attempts for comment
either.
The Fed declined to share whether there were extenuating circumstances
that would have required Cook to designate a second primary residence
two weeks after designating the first one.
“If mortgage fraud is proven and the case proceeds to sentencing,
it’s typically charged as a federal crime,” said Patrick Delahunty,
a former federal prosecutor who now works as an attorney focused on
white-collar criminal investigations. “The sentence would depend upon
the loss suffered by the bank or lender that extended the loan.”
Key details we still don’t know
In Cook’s case, the details aren’t clear and very little
information has been publicly released. Delahunty said that to prove
mortgage fraud, prosecutors would need to show that either the Michigan
or Georgia lenders would have made a different decision if Cook had
listed one of the properties as a secondary residence.
He added that Cook may have simply erred by designating both homes as
her primary residence, noting that the complexity of the mortgage
process is often used as a defense in such cases.
“The false statement would have to be intentional at the time it was
made,” he said.
On Thursday, Pulte claimed that he was also probing a third property
owned by Cook but provided no further details on its location or any
alleged wrongdoing.
Pulte also pointed to Cook’s latest financial disclosure, which shows
she took out three mortgages in 2021. Two of them, one with Bank-Fund
Staff Federal Credit Union and another with Members First Mortgage, are
listed as personal residences. A third mortgage, also with Bank-Fund
Staff Federal Credit Union, is listed as an investment property.
Having two properties listed as “personal residences” isn’t
evidence of wrongdoing. The term differs from “primary residence.”
A person may have multiple personal residences, but only one can count
as their primary home.
Cook’s latest financial disclosures do not list the University of
Michigan Credit Union as a mortgage lender, though one of her loans may
have since been transferred to another lender. Members First Mortgage
did not respond to a request for comment.
The financial disclosures of government officials, which are required
by law, don’t have to include addresses for any mortgages listed.
It’s unclear which loan belongs to which property — and a single
property can sometimes have multiple mortgages.
Pressure on the Fed
The attacks on Cook are an extension of the Trump administration’s
intense pressure campaign against the politically independent Fed —
and other perceived enemies of the president.
In July, Trump suggested that a at the Fed’s Washington, D.C.
headquarters might be sufficient cause to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
Pulte, Trump’s FHFA Director, has also called for mortgage fraud
investigations into Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California and New
York Attorney General Letitia James.
In a statement, Schiff’s attorney, Preet Bharara, “the very
definition of weaponization of the justice process.” James’
attorney, Abbe Lowell, against her was “the most blatant and
desperate example of this administration’s carrying out the
president’s political retribution campaign.”
Those investigations have been led by Ed Martin, a Justice Department
lawyer who was the Special Attorney for Mortgage Fraud. Like Pulte,
Martin has been a reliable attack dog for the Trump administration.
A Fed official can be fired only by the president for “cause,”
which is generally interpreted to mean for malfeasance or a dereliction
of duty.
This story has been updated with additional context and developments.
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