Trump panel sets Dec. 14 closed hearing on removing Fed's Lisa Cook

A Trump administration committee weighing whether to remove Federal Reserve Board Member Lisa D. Cook will hold a closed hearing on Dec. 14. The session was originally set for Dec. 5 but got pushed back over scheduling conflicts, according to press reports. The panel has been examining the case since Trump announced its formation on Oct. 7.

The administration says Cook made false statements on two mortgage applications — one for a home in Michigan, one for a condominium in Georgia — by claiming each property was her principal residence. Both applications were filed before Biden nominated her to the Fed. The administration has referred the matter to the Justice Department to investigate whether Cook should face criminal charges.

Cook's lawyers push back hard. They say reports confirm she properly declared the Michigan home as her principal residence and described the Georgia property as a vacation home in her application. Her attorney, Abbe Lowell, has questioned the panel's impartiality, the New York Times reported.

The Supreme Court has already blocked Trump from firing Cook while litigation over her removal plays out. The Court said, in part, that Trump should have given Cook a chance to challenge the mortgage allegations first.

The three-member panel includes Kevin Hassett, Assistant to the President for Economic Policy; Andrea R. Lucas, Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; and Kevin Sonderling, Acting Director of the Office of Government Ethics. Trump framed the effort bluntly when he announced it: "As President, it is my job to ensure the laws are faithfully executed, including by firing who cannot be trusted to tell the truth and follow the law."

At the hearing, the committee or its representatives may question Cook or her counsel about the allegations, Trump has said. The panel is required to submit findings of fact and conclusions of law, then recommend whether there is cause to remove her from the Board.