5 h. ago US justice department reportedly opens criminal inquiry into Fed governor Lisa Cook

Officials to investigate claims of mortgage fraud against Cook, who has refused to accept firing by Donald TrumpThe US justice department has initiated a criminal investigation into mortgage fraud claims against Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, according to new reports, as a lawsuit she filed against Donald Trump over her firing makes its way through court.Lawyers with the justice department have issued subpoenas for the investigation, according to the Wall Street Journal. Continue reading...

Society

5 h. ago Trump looking to ban transgender people from having a gun and declaring them ‘mentally ill’: report

Justice Department reportedly mulling restrictions in threat to Second Amendment rights fueled by anti-trans rhetoric

Politics

56 h. ago Hundreds of economists sign open letter backing embattled Fed Governor Lisa Cook after Trump attacks

Notable and experienced economists warn elected officials that attacks on the Fed ‘undermine’ public confidence

Events

5 d. ago ‘Racist as hell’: Trump’s cabinet is almost all white, and he keeps firing Black officials

President’s targeting of Fed governor Lisa Cook highlights his efforts to remove diverse voices from governmentA day after Donald Trump announced that he was firing Lisa Cook, the first Black woman to serve on the board of governors of the Federal Reserve, the White House proudly released a photo. It showed Trump, his cabinet and other officials giving a thumbs-up. Of the 24 people in the Oval Office, only one was Black.For those who have studied the US president’s long and troubling history of racism, the two events were more than mere coincidence. They were indicative of a man who has recently brought white nationalist perspectives from the margins back to the mainstream. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago The Guardian view on Trump and the Fed: independence is no substitute for accountability | Editorial

The US president’s move against Lisa Cook shows his despotic bent, but the Fed was never democracy’s guardian. It’s time to rethink who really controls moneyDonald Trump’s attempt to sack the Federal Reserve governor, Lisa Cook, is the familiar authoritarian trick of bending institutions to serve the leader’s immediate ends. The widespread condemnation is deserved. This is not some daring experiment in popular control of monetary policy. Yet what should follow censure is reflection. For the furore over Ms Cook has revealed a peculiar reflex: to defend the Fed’s independence as though it were synonymous with democracy itself.But is independence of the Fed, or central banks generally, really that? Eric Levitz at Vox thinks so, or at least that it is close enough. He argues that Congress sets the Fed’s objectives; independence applies only to the means. Without independence, politicians would be free to game rates for votes – as Richard Nixon did in 1972, leaning on the ...

Politics

7 d. ago Lisa Cook, the Federal Reserve governor battling Donald Trump

Economist’s legal showdown with the president will have sweeping implications for the US central bank

Politics

7 d. ago Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook sues Trump after he ‘fired’ her

Trump’s unprecedented move against the central bank's leadership is an effort to ‘undermine the independence of the Federal Reserve’, Cook’s lawyer said

Politics

9 d. ago Trump signals he has ‘somebody I like’ to replace Lisa Cook, as Fed governor sues over removal – live

President’s comment comes amid reporting that he wants to quickly nominate a replacement as Cook resists attempt to force her outLev Menand, a law professor at Columbia law school, said Donald Trump’s attempt to fire Federal Reserve chief Lisa Cook is a “procedurally invalid removal under the statute”.Menand, who authored a book about the Fed’s actions during the coronavirus pandemic, also said for-cause firings are typically related to misconduct while in office, rather than based on private misconduct from before an official’s appointment. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook to sue Trump administration over its attempt to fire her

Cook’s attorney said the president has ‘no authority’ and ‘lacks any factual or legal basis’ to fire the Fed governorThe Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook will sue the Trump administration over its bid to fire her over unconfirmed allegations of mortgage fraud, her attorney has said.Donald Trump announced he was firing Cook on Monday night, in an extraordinary move that marks the latest escalation in the US president’s attack on the central bank’s independence. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Top Democrats fire back against Trump’s plan to remove Federal Reserve governor as Lisa Cook vows to not resign – live

Lisa Cook says ‘no cause exists under the law’ for Trump to remove her; president is accused of ‘cobbling together’ mortgage fraud allegations against herTrump moves to fire Fed governor Lisa CookLev Menand, a law professor at Columbia law school, said Donald Trump’s attempt to fire Federal Reserve chief Lisa Cook is a “procedurally invalid removal under the statute”.Menand, who authored a book about the Fed’s actions during the coronavirus pandemic, also said for-cause firings are typically related to misconduct while in office, rather than based on private misconduct from before an official’s appointment. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Who is Lisa Cook and can Trump actually fire the Fed governor he accuses of mortgage fraud?

President Trump has demanded the removal of the Biden appointee in what would mark an unprecedented move against the central bank's leadership

Politics

9 d. ago Trump fires Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook — she says she’s not going anywhere

Cook rejects Trump’s allegations that she may have falsified records for her mortgage and vowed to push back against the president’s ‘attempted illegal action’

Politics

9 d. ago ‘No cause exists under the law’: Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook responds to Trump’s move to fire her – live

Lisa Cook says she will not resign after Trump accused of ‘cobbling together’ mortgage fraud allegations against herTrump moves to fire Fed governor Lisa CookLev Menand, a law professor at Columbia law school, said Donald Trump’s attempt to fire Federal Reserve chief Lisa Cook is a “procedurally invalid removal under the statute”.Menand, who authored a book about the Fed’s actions during the coronavirus pandemic, also said for-cause firings are typically related to misconduct while in office, rather than based on private misconduct from before an official’s appointment. Continue reading...

Society

9 d. ago Donald Trump 'sacks' Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook in never

Donald Trump has launched another move to exert his own influence over America's institutions by announcing the sacking of Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook - a first in its 111-year history

Politics

9 d. ago Trump moves to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook in escalating attack on bank’s independence

Departure of Cook, first Black woman to sit on central bank’s board, would allow US president to put forward a replacementDonald Trump has said he is firing the Federal Reserve governor, Lisa Cook, over allegations she committed mortgage fraud, in an extraordinary move that marks the latest escalation in the US president’s attack on the central bank’s independence.Trump wrote to Cook on Monday, telling her that he was removing her from her position “effective immediately”, based on the allegation from one of his allies that she had obtained a mortgage on a second home she incorrectly described as her primary residence. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Trump says he is firing Fed governor Lisa Cook ‘effective immediately’

Move against policymaker sharply escalates US president’s attacks on central bank

Politics

1 week ago Trump says he is firing Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook after alleging mortgage fraud

‘There is sufficient reason to believe you may have made false statements on one or more mortgage agreements,’ Trump wrote in a letter to Cook

Politics

1 week ago Ice is processing Kilmar Ábrego García for deportation, Kristi Noem says – US politics live

US homeland security secretary says Ábrego García is being processed for deportation but doesn’t say where he will be sent amid concerns he will go to UgandaKilmar Ábrego García detained after reporting to US immigration agentsThe justice department is alleging in a new court filing that three Smartmatic executives who were indicted last year on bribery and money-laundering charges transferred money from a 2018 voting machine contract with Los Angeles county into slush funds that were originally set up to pay bribes to election officials in Venezuela and the Philippines between 2012 and 2016 to obtain and retain lucrative election contracts.Prosecutors say one of the executives transferred an undisclosed amount from the $282m LA county contract into the slush funds in 2019 but did not say if anyone actually received bribes from the county’s money at that point. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago US Justice department calls on Fed to sack governor Lisa Cook

Letter to central bank chair Jay Powell is latest escalation in Trump administration’s assault on the institution

Society

2 w. ago Fed governor Lisa Cook says she will not be ‘bullied’ into resigning

Trump had called on central banker to step down after his ally accused her of falsifying mortgage documents

Politics