First detailed response to mortgage fraud allegations, lawyer for Federal Reserve Governor Cook: The allegations are groundless.
The legal team for Federal Reserve Board member Lisa Cook has officially responded to the Trump Administration’s mortgage fraud allegations, calling the accusations “groundless.”
On Monday, Cook’s attorney Abbe Lowell sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, stating that any discrepancies in Cook’s loan documents were either accurate at the time of application or were “inadvertent notations,” which, considering other information disclosed to the lender, do not constitute fraud.
Referenced by WallStreetCN, the U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily blocked Trump from removing her from office and will hold a hearing in January next year.
In his letter, Lowell also accused Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte of selectively targeting Trump’s political opponents while ignoring similar allegations against Republican officials. It was Pulte who, in August, submitted a criminal complaint to the Justice Department against Cook, providing the grounds for Trump’s attempt to remove her.
Lawyer Rebuts Allegations Point by Point
In the letter sent to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Special Counsel Ed Martin, responsible for investigating mortgage fraud, Cook’s lawyer Abbe Lowell rebutted the allegations in detail, saying these claims “cannot withstand scrutiny in the face of the facts.”
Lowell wrote that the criminal referral materials Pulte submitted to the Justice Department are “baseless.” He noted:
The complete record clearly shows that the so-called contradictions in the loan application are not contradictions at all, but rather incomplete fragments, taken out of context from post hoc documents.
Lowell emphasized that the documents Cook submitted subsequently are consistent with her original application.
The lawyer stated, these alleged discrepancies in the documents were either accurate at the time of application or were “inadvertent notations,” and given Cook’s full disclosure to the lending institution, these do not constitute fraudulent conduct.
Questioning the Motives and Actions of the Whistleblower
Lowell also questioned the motives and recent actions of Pulte, the individual who reported Cook. He said Pulte’s other recent actions “undermine the credibility of his criminal allegation against Board Member Cook.”
These actions include the recent dismissal of the acting Inspector General of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the termination of several internal auditors at Fannie Mae. Fannie Mae is one of the mortgage financing companies regulated by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
According to the latest schedule, on January 21, the U.S. Supreme Court will hold oral arguments on the case of President Trump’s dismissal of Federal Reserve Board Member Cook—an important showdown over the independence of the central bank.
Additionally, in December, the Supreme Court will hear another case that could affect the outcome of Cook’s case. In that case, the justices will consider whether to overturn a 1935 ruling.
This prior decision established that Congress can protect leaders of independent agencies from being dismissed by the president absent misconduct.
If the Supreme Court overturns this decades-old precedent, it could strengthen the president’s authority to remove heads of independent agencies, directly affecting the course of Cook’s case.
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