1:23Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve Board, attends a gathering of the board at the Federal Reserve in Washington, D.C., on October 24, 2025.Aaron Schwartz/EPA/Shutterstock
Legal representatives for Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook are pushing back strongly against the criminal referral submitted to the Department of Justice concerning supposed mortgage fraud, labeling such accusations as "groundless" in a recent communication to the department.
"At the heart of the referrals and asserted misdeeds is a basic misunderstanding and deliberate neglect," the letter, acquired by ABC News and sent from Cook's lawyers to Attorney General Pam Bondi, indicates.
Lisa Cook, member of the Federal Reserve Board, attend a board meeting at the Federal Reserve in Washington, October 24, 2025.Aaron Schwartz/EPA/Shutterstock
As President Donald Trump endeavors to reshape the composition of the Federal Reserve’s central banking structure, the allegations leveled against Cook provided a rationale for Trump's attempt to dismiss her "for cause" in August.
As per the legal team’s letter, the criminal referrals are linked to properties owned by Cook located in Michigan, Georgia, and Massachusetts.
Cook’s attorneys also direct criticism at the individual who initiated the referrals — Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, who has previously made akin claims against other adversaries of the president — denouncing what they characterize as his "partisan employment of the criminal referral procedure."
"Director Pulte’s choice to utilize the FHFA to selectively — and publicly — scrutinize and target political opponents named by the President generates a very strong impression that he has been inappropriately collaborating with the White House to devise weak rationales to initiate these investigations," the letter proclaims.
Consequently, Cook’s legal team has requested that the probe be terminated.
Neither the Department of Justice nor the FHFA provided an immediate response to requests from ABC News seeking their input regarding the attorneys’ correspondence.
Sourse: abcnews.go.com
