The Justice Department issued subpoenas and opened a criminal inquiry into allegations that fired Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook has committed mortgage fraud, according to a Thursday report.
Attorney General Pam Bondi tapped Ed Martin, a top Justice Department official, to lead the effort to investigate mortgage fraud among public officials.
The investigation follows after Bill Pulte, the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), alleged that Cook engaged in mortgage fraud, focusing on two properties she owns in Michigan and Georgia.
Pulte has shared what he claims is video evidence of Cook claiming multiple properties as her primary residence and then allegedly renting them out. Breitbart News’s John Nolte explained:
There is just one problem: Neither Cook nor her attorneys nor the media can get around the fact that Cook received lower mortgage rates with documented false claims on mortgage applications.
The paperwork shows she listed a home in Ann Arbor, Michigan, as a “primary residence.” She also listed a condo in Atlanta, Georgia, as a ”primary residence.” Then there’s a home in Massachusetts that she listed as a “second home.” Except, from the looks of it, she might be renting out… all three.
So far, the FHA (Federal Housing Administration) has made two criminal referrals against Lisa Cook for mortgage fraud.
Cook has also filed a lawsuit, claiming that Trump’s move to fire her from the Fed is unlawful and lacked “cause.” Cook’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, has stated that her firing from the Fed centers more around the president’s move to lower interest rates rather than her alleged mortgage fraud, which has not been proven in a court of law.
Lowell stated that Cook “did not ever commit mortgage fraud,” and alleged that the Biden White House had access to documents that would have shown alleged facial inconsistencies with her properties. However, a source familiar with the matter has told Breitbart News that the Senate Banking Committee at the time of her confirmation did not have access to information that would have shown if she had double dipped on residential mortgage filings. The committee only would have received information showing whether she received rental income from her second and third properties, but they would not have known if she received preferential mortgage rates by claiming to live in those properties.
If Trump were successful in removing Cook from the Fed, a majority of the Fed’s board would comprise Trump’s nominees to the nation’s central bank.
“We’ll have a majority very shortly,” Trump said in August while mentioning his efforts to remove Cook.
Read the full article here