DOJ Subpoenas Complicate Supreme Court Review of Trump’s Bid to Remove Lisa Cook

The Supreme Court is set to hear President Trump’s effort to remove Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook as the Justice Department has issued subpoenas in a criminal investigation of Fed chair Jerome H. Powell, a development legal experts say could complicate the case. The solicitor general will argue to the court that the president had a valid reason to fire Ms.

Cook for alleged mortgage fraud; Ms. Cook, who has not been charged, denies the allegations relating to loan documents she signed before joining the Fed. In filings her lawyers called the allegation “paper-thin, unproven” and a “manufactured” pretext, and analysts said the Powell subpoenas could bolster the sense the administration sought to oust Ms.

Cook to pressure the Fed to lower borrowing costs. Columbia law professor Lev Menand said the move against Mr. Powell “undermines the administration’s contention that this is all about Lisa Cook’s conduct and not about her votes on monetary policy.” The subpoenas relate to whether Mr.

Powell misled Congress about costly renovations of the Fed’s headquarters; Mr.

Key Topics

Politics, Lisa Cook, Jerome Powell, Donald Trump, Federal Reserve, Justice Department