Attorneys for Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook are firing back against her criminal referral to the Department of Justice over allegations of mortgage fraud, calling those allegations “baseless” in a new letter to the department.
“At the core of the referrals and allegations of wrongdoing is a fundamental misconception and purposeful omission,” the letter, obtained by ABC News, from Cook’s attorneys to Attorney General Pam Bondi states.
Lisa Cook, member of the Federal Reserve Board, attend a board meeting at the Federal Reserve in Washington, October 24, 2025.
Aaron Schwartz/EPA/Shutterstock
As President Donald Trump seeks to reshape the balance of the Federal Reserve central banking system, the allegations against Cook became the basis of Trump’s effort to terminate her “for cause” in August.
According to the attorneys’ letter, the criminal referrals relate to properties Cook owns in Michigan, Georgia and Massachusetts.
Cook’s attorneys also criticize the man who made the referrals — Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, who has made similar allegations against other foes of the president — slamming what they say is his “partisan use of the criminal referral process.”
“Director Pulte’s decision to use the FHFA to selectively — and publicly — investigate and target the President’s designated political enemies gives rise to the unmistakable impression that he has been improperly coordinating with the White House to manufacture flimsy predicates to launch these probes,” the letter states.
As such, Cook’s attorneys called for the investigation to be dropped.
Neither the Department of Justice nor FHFA immediately responded to ABC News’ requests for comment on the attorneys’ letter.
