US Justice Dept Probes Central Bank Governor Lisa Cook For Fraud After She Challenged Donald Trump

(MENAFN- Live Mint) The US Department of Justice has opened a fraud investigation into the American central bank's governor, Lisa Cook, on the claims propagated by President Donald Trump , who alleged she falsified a mortgage application, reported The First Post.

The report added that hyperpartisan Trump loyalist Ed Martin, who has little prosecutorial experience, first investigated the accusation.

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Earlier, Martin had stated that even if the probe did not result in a conviction, it was legitimate for federal officials to publicly air criminal investigations into people targeted by the president.

According to The New York Times report, despite the Department of Justice has initiated the probe, it is unclear which US attorney's offices will be involved in the probe.

The investigation was initiated amid the brewing tensions between US President Donald Trump and the country's Federal Reserve .

Trump vs Cook:

Cook in her previous disclosures maintained that she had owned homes in Georgia, Massachusetts and Michigan. The NYT report stated federal prosecutors have begun issuing subpoenas to people related to the case.

The probe against Cook is not surprising citing Martin had signalled his intention to do so as the White House stepped up its attacks on Cook.

Cook and Trump administrations' tussle began when the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency -- Bill Pulte -- stated that when his office probed the Federal Reserve Governor, they found Cook appeared to have falsified bank documents to obtain favourable terms on a mortgage.

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Later, Pulte referred the matter to the Justice Department for a criminal inquiry ahead President Trump announced that he would fire Cook from the central bank.

Soon, Cook released a statement noting that she would not be bullied to step down from her position because of some questions raised in a tweet.

She, however, stated she would gather the facts and take“questions about my financial history seriously”. She then went on to sue the Trump administration over its attempt to fire her, and her lawyers in a hearing last week maintained that her potential ouster was an illegal bid to undermine the traditional independence of the Federal Reserve.

On Thursday, he lawyer representing Ms. Cook – Abbe D. Lowell – issued a statement saying the reports suggested the Trump administration was“scrambling to invent new justifications for its overreach,” describing the Justice Department as“perhaps the most politicised” in American history.

“The questions over how Governor Cook described her properties from time to time, which we have started to address in the pending case and will continue to do so, are not fraud, but it takes nothing for this DoJ to undertake a new politicised investigation, and they appear to have just done it again,” Lowell maintained.

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This is not the first such instance, as under the leadership of Attorney General Pam Bondi, the DoJ acted on referrals from other government agencies by proceeding with mortgage fraud investigations of the New York State attorney general, Letitia James, and Senator Adam B. Schiff. Both of them are considered to be two of the most prominent critics of Trump, added NYP.

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