Putle Files Another Criminal Referral
The unraveling saga of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook took yet another turn this week, as Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte filed a second criminal referral—this time tied to a third property that Cook may have misrepresented to the government while serving on the Fed’s Board.
It comes just days after President Donald Trump fired Cook, citing the original referrals as “cause” for termination. Cook immediately responded by claiming Trump had “no authority” to remove her and filed suit in federal court to block the move. Friday’s hearing in Washington, D.C., will test the limits of presidential authority over the supposedly independent central bank — a question with no modern precedent.
3 strikes and you’re out.
Today, U.S. Federal Housing sent a 2nd Criminal Referral in the matter of Lisa D. Cook, related to a mortgage on a 3rd property and alleged misrepresentations about her properties to the United States Government during her time as Governor of the… pic.twitter.com/TAH68Mia23
— Pulte (@pulte) August 29, 2025
But while lawyers and legal scholars hash out whether “cause” has been established, the allegations themselves are stacking up.
According to Pulte, in April 2021, Cook obtained a 15-year mortgage on a Cambridge, Massachusetts condominium by declaring it her “second home.” But just eight months later, in December 2021, she told the U.S. government in an ethics disclosure form that the property was actually an “investment/rental property.” From 2022 through 2025, her filings consistently listed it as such.
That discrepancy matters. “Second home” loans typically carry lower interest rates and smaller down payment requirements compared to mortgages on investment properties, which lenders see as riskier. Misrepresentation, if proven, could amount to fraud.
Breaking News: Lisa Cook confessed “errors;” claims its clerical but still an error!
— Pulte (@pulte) August 28, 2025
And this is not Cook’s first entanglement. Earlier referrals alleged that in 2021 she claimed one property in Michigan and another in Georgia as her “primary residence” — within weeks of each other. The Department of Justice is investigating those filings. In court documents this week, Cook’s attorneys admitted there may have been an “unintentional clerical error,” though skeptics note the improbability of making that mistake multiple times across different loans.
The deeper problem for Cook is not just the legal jeopardy but the optics. Each fresh disclosure chips away at her credibility. In an institution where integrity is paramount, allegations of personal financial misrepresentation cut sharply against the Fed’s mission of safeguarding economic trust.