Trump Creates Panel to Probe Fed's Cook at Hearing
Is this simple due process or a power grab by Trump over the central bank?
Story
Above: U.S. Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook in Moran, Wyoming on Aug. 28. Image credit: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty Images
The Facts
- U.S. President Donald Trump in a memorandum dated Wednesday established a "committee of inquiry" to investigate allegations that Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook made false statements tied to one or more mortgage instruments.
- The panel comprises three Trump appointees: economic adviser Kevin Hassett, Office of Government Ethics acting head Keith Sonderling and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chair Andrea Lucas. No outside, independent arbiters were named.
- The memo directs Cook to appear Nov. 5 at a White House hearing lasting no longer than four hours, closed to the public but transcribed. She may submit a written statement by Nov. 10 before the committee issues findings and a recommendation.
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The Spin
Pro-Trump narrative
A Fed governor accused of fudging mortgage paperwork deserves the same scrutiny any other American would get. SCOTUS demanded that Cook receive due process and now she's getting the chance to answer for possible misdeeds. Confidence in the truth means showing up and making the case for it, not hiding behind the Fed's independence.
Anti-Trump narrative
Inventing a tribunal with no basis in law to haul in a Fed governor stretches presidential power past the breaking point. The real prize here is control of the central bank, and a Fed bent to political demands would mean higher costs for American families. Funny how identical mortgage paperwork draws no scrutiny at all when it belongs to the accuser.
