On Thursday night, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte dropped a second criminal referral against Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook based on evidence that she entered into a 15-year mortgage on a third property which she listed as her “Second Home.”
On an ethics form signed with the government, however, Cook noted it as an “investment/rental property.”
Why is this bad and not simply a ‘clerical error’? As Pulte notes, “Representing the property as a second home may have allowed Cook to secure a lower “Second Home” mortgage down payment and rates, as investment properties typically carry higher down payments and higher rates due to increased risk.”
This new criminal referral follows an initial referral Pulte made after Cook listed two properties as her ‘primary residence’ in 2021 – ostensibly reaping manifold benefits on tax treatment and interest rates, which Cook hasn’t denied.
About that Clerical Error…
Earlier Thursday, Cook filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration after President Donald Trump fired her on Monday ‘for cause.’ Among the excuses contained in the lawsuit for listing two properties as her primary residence was a possible clerical error.
Except, Cook described herself in her 2023 nomination hearing as having “significant experience in banking and finance, as is evidenced by my service on the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and of a Community Development Financial Institution in Michigan, in addition to my employment at an investment bank and a large commercial bank.”
Hellbound and Down 