Cook’s attorney said the president has ‘no authority’ and ‘lacks any factual or legal basis’ to fire the Fed governor

Cook’s attorney said the president has ‘no authority’ and ‘lacks any factual or legal basis’ to fire the Fed governor

The 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.

But Trump has “no authority” to remove her from the Fed’s board of governors, Cook’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, argued in a statement to reporters, saying: “His attempt to fire her, based solely on a referral letter, lacks any factual or legal basis. We will be filing a lawsuit challenging this illegal action.”

  • shalafi@lemmy.worldEnglish
    5·
    12 hours ago

    I don’t understand this mess. If he can’t fire her, why the lawsuit? She only need take a picture of her middle finger and post it on Truth Social.

    Also, if Trump can’t fire her, why has there been all this talk over Trump wanting to fire Jerome Powell, the chairman of the Fed?

    I did a cursory look around and am not getting it. Just got COVID so I’m pretty slow ATM. Please ELI5.

    • NGram@piefed.caEnglish
      7·
      8 hours ago

      I can sort of understand it. Trump has done quite a few things that are illegal but people are still carrying out his orders. This situation could be no different. Because he’s the president, Trump is perceived as an authority even if he doesn’t actually wield any power in the specific circumstance.

      I’m not sure about how this applies in this specific case (I’ve never had to deal with USA laws, thankfully), but improper dismissal and libel are definitely things to sue someone over. Libel is an especially popular one for public figures, since their perception is a big part of how they operate.