Fed Governor Lisa Cook claimed 2nd residence as vacation home, undercutting Trump fraud claims | Latest Travel News
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook referred to a condominium she bought in June 2021 as a “vacation home” in a loan estimate, a characterization that could undermine claims by the Trump administration that she committed mortgage fraud.
President Donald Trump has sought to fire Cook “for cause,” relying on allegations that Cook claimed both the condo and another property as her primary residence simultaneously, as he looks to reshape the central bank to orchestrate a steep cut to interest rates. Documents obtained by The Associated Press also showed that on a second form submitted by Cook to gain a security clearance, she described the property as a “second home.”
Cook sued the Trump administration to block her firing, the first time a president has sought to take away a member of the seven-person board of governors. Cook secured an injunction Tuesday that permits her to stay as a Fed governor.
The administration has appealed the ruling and requested for an emergency ruling by Monday, just before the Fed is set to meet and resolve whether or not to cut back its key rate of interest. Most economists anticipate they may cut the speed by a quarter level.
Bill Pulte, a Trump appointee to the company that regulates mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, has accused Cook of signing separate paperwork in which she allegedly said that both the Atlanta property and a home in Ann Arbor, Michigan, also bought in June 2021, have been both “primary residences.” Pulte submitted a prison referral to the Justice Department, which has opened an investigation.
Claiming a home as a “primary residence” may end up in better down fee and mortgage phrases than if one of the houses is assessed as a vacation home.
The descriptions of Cook’s properties have been first reported by GWN.
Fulton County tax data show Cook has never claimed a homestead exemption on the condominium, which permits somebody who makes use of a property as their major residence to cut back their property taxes, since shopping for it in 2021.
The White House didn’t immediately reply to a request for remark.
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AP author Jeff Amy in Atlanta contributed to this report.
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