For Cause or For Control

Cook’s case shows how politics and law collide at the Fed

May 28, 2021. Bank-Fund Staff FCU issues a loan estimate. Lisa Cook's Atlanta condo marked Vacation Home. That notation cracks the fraud case at the base. The lender documented intent at underwriting.

December 2021. An SF-86 supplement tags the same condo 2nd home. Fulton County tax rolls show no homestead exemption, no primary benefit claimed.

Mortgage boilerplate has an escape hatch: unless Lender otherwise agrees in writing. The loan estimate is that writing. The fraud document trail points the other way.

Aug 15 referral. Aug 22 DOJ inquiry. Aug 25 firing letter. September 2022 Zillow listing gone in two weeks.

Trump vs. Powell, Round Two

2024: 38 mortgage-fraud convictions across 4.7 million originations. Conviction rate: 0.0008%.

The referral didn't move quiet through an IG. FHFA Director Bill Pulte blasted it—social posts, cable hits, document drops. Former FHFA staff called it unusual. Privacy Act flags went up when check images and location data hit the feed.

The accuser's flank collapsed. Reuters found Pulte's father and stepmother taking homestead exemptions in Boca Raton and Bloomfield Township. Michigan revoked one immediately. Penalty plus interest to follow.

August 25, 2025. White House announces Cook's removal.

September 9. U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb issues an injunction. Reads for cause as conduct in office. Notes due-process problems. Points to Fed independence. Administration appeals and pushes for an emergency stay before the September FOMC.

A broad for cause definition leaves every Fed governor exposed to an opposition file. That risk reprices Treasurys. Term premium widens, mortgages tick higher, credit impulse tightens.

The paper trail undercuts the allegation. The court blocked the firing. The messenger's side already carries its own tax mess.