President Donald Trump’s own statements are muddying the waters in his latest bid to oust Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, a bid complicated by a recent rebuke from the Supreme Court. Legal experts are now wondering if a panel of his political appointees has, in effect, already made up its mind on her future.
When it came to the special committee he put in place to look into mortgage fraud claims leveled at Cook, Trump did not mince words with reporters on Saturday, according to a Wednesday report from The New York Times.
“I think she’s dishonest,” Mr. Trump told reporters on Saturday, referring to the Fed governor, Lisa Cook, who he has been trying to fire for over a year.
The report notes that the president was more interested in her unwillingness to back the lower interest rates he is after than in the specifics of the allegations. “She’s an automatic no vote, and that’s not a good thing,” he said.
Such comments have fueled the argument over whether Cook will be afforded a fair hearing by a body put together by a president who has been open about his desire to see her go. The Supreme Court put a stop to Trump’s first move to dismiss her in June on the grounds she had not been given a chance to make her case, though the justices left room for him to try again if he followed due process.
Yet, Kathryn Judge of Columbia Law School sees it differently. In a discussion with the Times, the Fed scholar suggested Trump’s earlier remarks put the new hearing’s motives in question. “It feels like they are going through a bunch of procedural hurdles, but that they likely have the outcome that they want already decided,” she said.
The committee includes National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling and EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas, all handpicked by Trump. Both Hassett and Sonderling have been in step with Trump on the matter of interest rates; Hassett has also described the charges against Cook as “serious” and pressed for her to take a leave of absence.
The charges, which stem from federal housing director Bill Pulte, are over two properties Cook is accused of improperly listing as primary residences on mortgage applications. She has denied any wrongdoing and is yet to face any criminal charges.
Her counsel, Abbe Lowell, wrote to the administration voicing her “significant concerns regarding the objectivity and fitness of the committee.” While the White House has set a closed-door session for Nov. 5, Cook’s lawyers say a conflict in her schedule will keep her from being there.
White House spokesman Matthew Middleton defended the president’s move as “an in-person hearing that will be conducted in a fair and open process.”
Peter Conti-Brown, an expert on Fed governance at the University of Pennsylvania, said of Trump's unconventional setup as a pal of "quasi judges in a quasi-judicial process." He acknowledged the move fulfills the Supreme Court's basic requirements but concluded, "It’s worth saying out loud what everyone knows: This is all pretext.”
