We Are All Lisa Cook
Nobody is safe from weaponized government
The Trump Administration fires people who say things that they don't like.
The Trump Administration sends troops to cities whose administrations it doesn't like.
The Trump Administration arrests people whose skin color it doesn't like.
The Trump Administration is fascist.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Donald Trump is threatening to fire Lisa Cook , a member of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, over allegations that she made false claims on mortgage applications before she went to the Fed.
I am not going to lead with a discussion of what Cook may or may not have done. That would be playing Trump’s game. Clearly, he’s just looking for a pretext to fire someone who isn’t a loyalist — and who happens, surprise, to be a black woman. If you write about politics and imagine that Trump cares about mortgage fraud — or for that matter believe anything Trump officials say about the affair without independent confirmation — you should find a different profession. Maybe you should go into agricultural field work, to help offset the labor shortages created by Trump’s deportations.
The real story here isn’t about Cook, or mortgages. It’s about the way the Trump administration is weaponizing government against political opponents, critics, or anyone it finds inconvenient.
You should think about the attack on Cook in the same context as mortgage fraud accusations made against California Senator Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Or you should look at the attacks on Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, over the cost of renovations at the Fed’s headquarters. Or the still mysterious raid on the house of John Bolton, who at one time was Trump’s national security adviser.
The message here clearly isn’t “Don’t commit fraud,” which would be laughable coming from Donald Trump, of all people. Nor, despite what some commentators have said, is it all about revenge — although Trump is, indeed, a remarkably vindictive person. But mainly it’s about intimidation: “If you get in our way we will ruin your life.”
As with individuals, so with institutions. Universities are being threatened with loss of research grants unless they take orders from the White House. Law firms are being threatened with loss of access unless they do pro-bono work on behalf of the administration. Corporations are being threatened with punitive tariffs unless they support administration policies — and, in the case of Intel, hand over part ownership of the company.
This newsletter usually focuses on economics, and I could go on at length about the ways rule by intimidation will hurt the economy. There’s a whole economics literature devoted to the costs when an economy is dominated by “ rent-seeking ” — when business success depends on political connections rather than producing things people want. I’ve been writing a series of primers on stagflation . One of the way things could go very badly wrong would be politicization of the Federal Reserve, with monetary policy dictated by Trump’s whims, and it would be even worse if Fed policy is driven by officials’ fear of what will happen if they don’t follow Trump’s orders.
It's also important to realize that the Fed does more than set interest rates. It’s also an important regulator of the financial system, a job that will be deeply compromised if Fed governors can be bullied by personal threats.
But there’s much more at stake here than the economy. What we’re witnessing is the authoritarian playbook in action. Tyrannies don’t always get their way by establishing a secret police force that arrests people at will — although we’re getting that too. Much of their power comes not from overt violence but from their ability to threaten people’s careers and livelihoods, up to and including trumped-up accusations of criminal behavior.
Which brings me, finally, to the accusations against Lisa Cook. According to Bill Pulte, the ultra-MAGA director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Cook applied for mortgages on two properties, claiming both as her primary residence. This isn’t allowed, because banks offer more favorable mortgage terms on your primary residence than on investment properties.
Borrowers sometimes do sometimes commit deliberate fraud, claiming multiple properties as their primary residence when they always intended to rent them out. For example, Ken Paxton , Texas’s Attorney General, claimed three houses as his primary residence, renting out two of them, and has also rented out at least two properties that he listed as vacation homes. Somehow, however, Pulte hasn’t highlighted his case, let alone threatened him with a 30-year prison sentence .
The truth is that even when clear mortgage fraud has taken place, it almost always leads to an out-of-court settlement, with fees paid to the lender, rather than a criminal case. In 2024, only 38 people in America were sentenced for mortgage fraud. No, I’m not missing some zeroes.
So did Cook say something false on her mortgage applications? Pulte says so, but I’d wait for verification. Also, false statements on mortgage applications are only a crime if they’re made knowingly, which is a high bar. And nothing at all about this story is relevant to Cook’s role at the Federal Reserve. If the administration thinks it has enough evidence to bring charges, it should bring charges, not demand that she quit her job.
The important thing to understand is that we are all Lisa Cook. You may imagine that your legal and financial history is so blameless that there’s no way MAGA can come after you. If you believe that, you’re living in a fantasy world. Criticize them or get in their way, and you will become a target.
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The rule of Law....
Trump wants obedience from the Fed. In his broken brain the way to get that is to threaten to throw them in jail. Powell himself better watch his back.
Yup
Starting with the Mueller debacle, democratic activists weaponized the legal system against their enemies on both the state and national level. Anyone with a brain understood this would be the result. All the brain havers said so at the time.
And now here we are plunging down the same path that destroyed the Roman Republic, where leaders were terrified to lose power knowing they faced prosecution when shorn of its protection. Great job!
There is not a single thing that Trump has ever been accused of that was pulled out of thin air.
This is a man who stood on a stage during a presidential campaign and asked America's greatest enemy to hack into his opponents computer system. We know it was taken as such because later that same night they made an attempt.
His son met with Russians for the specific purpose of receiving dirt on his fathers opponent.
His campaign manager was trading information with a Russian spy.
He repeatedly lied about his intentions to build a tower in Moscow.
MAGAs demands for ethical behavior from Trump are and always have been nonexistent.
Lawfare? It is a travesty that he is not in prison right now.
Lisa Cook committed mortgage fraud. Schiff did. James did. How can you, or anyone who supported the Trump prosecution in New York, possibly object to their prosecution? Other people actually get charged with this crime.
s son met with Russians for the specific purpose of receiving dirt on his fathers opponent.
So his mistake was not using a foreign spy as a cutout like Clinton did. That's your gotcha?
is campaign manager was trading information with a Russian spy.
so that must be a crime than, right? What was he charged with?
e repeatedly lied about his intentions to build a tower in Moscow.
Lol. This is even more ridiculous. Nothing in that sentence even remotely approaches an actual crime.
Yes or no. Was it a good idea for a prosecutor who campaigned on "getting Trump", formed a team to find a way to "Get Trump" and charged him using a statute no one had ever been convicted before despite Hillary committing the exact same crime?
TRUMP WASNT CHARGED , he was investigated. But if Mueller wasnt so weak, he would have formally referred Trump for obstruction of justice charges when his presidential term was over.
The idea that the Mueller report exonerated Trump from all wrong doing is ridiculous. It didnt exonerate anything, it said that legally collusion could not be proven.
Trump says "jump" and you all say yes sir how high. We now have a generation of teens and young adults who think Trump is not only normal he has been persecuted. We are now a sad country.
AND if Mueller wasn't a republican himself....
Let me guess. Adam Schiff has all the "evidence" stored on Hillary Clinton's server.
Cook is accused of doing exactly the same thing that Letisha James and Adam Schiff is accused of. Why keep them on staff? Democrats might be good with criminals in their administration, it looks as if the current one doesn't want that.
Could that be due to the fact the investigations turned up ZERO?
The idea that the Mueller report was the result of a LEGAL INVESTIGATION is ridiculous. DNI released documents back that up.
Why does Trump keep himself on staff then?
Are you aware he has never "won" any of his legal cases on the factual merit of the charges? He has "won" the way Mafia bosses win in court.
No court or judge has ever concluded that he didnt do it.
Because making the left and democrats cry isn't a crime. It's entertainment.
Could you please stop making ludicrous comments.
You mean like #4 below?
Now we are back to "investigations aren't a problem." One can get whiplash from progressives depending on who is being investigated.
Again, since you avoided it, Was it a good idea for a prosecutor who campaigned on "getting Trump", formed a team to find a way to "Get Trump" and charged him using a statute no one had ever been convicted before despite Hillary committing the exact same crime?
The Trump Administration fires people who say things that they don't like.
The Trump Administration sends troops to cities whose administrations it doesn't like.
The Trump Administration arrests people whose skin color it doesn't like.
The Trump Administration is fascist.
Do you have any proof that he is doing these things specifically for the reasons you claim?
So no proof.
Just a stupid emoji.
Not surprised
You're surprised?
Not at all.
It is expected now
[✘]
Trump is a psycho, and you have now dedicated to providing "reasons" for his behavior.
The 2016 investigation of Trumps campaign was entirely justified. Our government , both under Obama and Trump , have verified this.
MAGA has worked tirelessly for almost 10 years to have Trumps mental diseases normalized in public acceptance. There is hardly anything connected to his political life he has not repeatedly lied about. He lies many times every day.
And his supporters spend a lot of time every day pretending he is the real victim. It is disgusting.
The Trump Administration is fascist.
Liberal fools right stupid things that aren't true and they can't prove, and equally gullible sheep mindlessly repeat them.
Someone has to right the wrongs of Trumpism!
Thanks for acknowledging Dems are trying to...
But they can't seem to find any such "wrongs",
Can you let us know what those "wrongs" are....
And feelings don't count
Is Lisa Cook an opponent of Trump? Or is Krugman only using Lisa Cook to put forward a strawman argument?
Fed Governor Lisa Cook is a Federal employee. The ethical standards for Federal employees are more stringent than for elected officials. Is Lisa Cook being held to a higher standard? Yes because that is a condition of Federal employment.
Is Trump playing politics? Of course. Trump may be using the threat to fire Lisa Cook as a political attack against political opponents. That doesn't doesn't mean Lisa Cook is a political opponent. Krugman is using Lisa Cook to make a strawman argument.
Well Paul... it seems like that would be material to the story.
Meaning....easily verifiable or refutable?
Wait... you mean like a politician running on the platform of persecuting a specific political opponent, employing an obscure law to accuse that individual over wholly subjective numbers, getting a political ally judge to issue a summary judgment , and then attempting to extract half a billion dollars? Sorry, what were you saying about "weaponizing"?
This seems a bit like one football team complaining that the other team is knocking their players down.
Perhaps... to someone who either doesn't understand the situation, or - more probably - has no intention of understanding the situation.
The President - this one or any other - is not empowered to remove members of the Fed. Period. It does not matter what that Fed member may or may not have done. The President is not empowered to fire Fed officers. Period.
So rather than imagine a possible misdeed by Cook... perhaps it would be better to spotlight the blatantly, openly illegal action of Donald Trump.
Oh, wait... for MAGAs, nothing Trump does can be illegal. If your Lord and Master does it, it is legal. And moral. And ethical. And GOOD!
The President - this one or any other - is not empowered to remove members of the Fed. Period. It does not matter what that Fed member may or may not have done. The President is not empowered to fire Fed officers. Period
that is 100% wrong. The federal reserve act expressly gives the president that power.
to someone who either doesn't understand the situation
ironic.
A little homework would have saved you this embarrassment.
The thing is, Bob, 12 U.S. Code § 242 states clearly that the POTUS can remove a board member for cause.
In 1935, the SCOTUS ruled that the POTUS cannot remove a board member for political reasons. (Humphrey's Executor v. United States)
If she has knowingly made multiple false statements on financial documents (see Leticia James and/or Ken Paxton), that could easily constitute "cause".
So you see, Bob, anyone who isn't a raving partisan lunatic can see quite easily that what Ms Cook "may or may not have done" is incredibly material to the situation.