Lawyers for Cook, DOJ trade blows at high-stakes clash over Fed firing

A federal judge in Washington D C on Friday grilled lawyers for the Justice Department and Lisa Cook over President Donald Trump's historic attempt to fire her from the Federal Reserve The landmark affair is almost certain to be kicked to the Supreme Court for review but despite the high-stakes nature of the legal dispute Friday's hearing ended after more than two hours without clear resolution U S District Judge Jia Cobb a Biden appointee declined to forthwith grant the temporary restraining order sought by Lisa Cook's attorneys which would keep her in her role on the Fed's Board of Governors for now Cook's lawyers included the request for the temporary restraining order in the lawsuit filed in federal court on Thursday challenging Trump's attempt to fire her from her position on the independent board due to assertions of mortgage fraud APPEALS COURT BLOCKS TRUMP FROM FIRING FEDERAL BOARD MEMBERS TEES UP SUPREME COURT FIGHTInstead Judge Cobb ordered both parties to submit any supplemental briefs to the court by Tuesday shortly before she dismissed the lawyers for the long weekend Cobb noted the novelty of the scenario before her which involves the first attempt by a sitting president to oust a Federal Reserve governor for cause The fraud statements were first leveled by Bill Pulte a Trump appointee to the federal agency that regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac He accused Cook of claiming two primary residences in two separate states in with the goal of obtaining more favorable loan conditions Trump followed up by posting a letter on Truth Social earlier this week that he had determined sufficient cause to fire Cook a dismissal he declared was effective this instant prompting her attorneys to file the urgency lawsuit The crux of Friday's arguments centered on the definition of what for cause provisions must entail for removal from the board under the Federal Reserve Act or FRA a law designed to shield members from the political whims of the commander-in-chief or members of Congress The arguments also centered on Cook's insists in her lawsuit that Trump's attempt to fire her amounts to an illegal effort to remove her from the Fed well before her tenure is slated to end in January to instead install his own nominee Lawyers for Cook argued that her firing is merely a pretext for Trump to secure a majority on the Fed board a contention that Cobb admitted made her uncomfortable They also attempted to poke holes in the mortgage fraud accusations which they explained were made on social media and backfilled The situation obviously raises pivotal questions about the Federal Reserve Board Cobb explained shortly before adjourning court She also noted that she had not yet made a determination about the alleged irreparable harm prompting her to set the Tuesday filing deadline TRUMP SAYS HE S INEVITABLY READY FOR LEGAL FIGHT AS OUSTED FED GOVERNOR PLANS LAWSUITCook's attorneys argued Friday that Trump's attempt to fire her violates her due process rights under the Fifth Amendment as well as her statutory right to notice and a hearing under the Federal Reserve Act Her lawyer Abbe Lowell noted on several occasions that there was no scrutiny or charge from the administration prior to Trump's abrupt announcement that he would fire Cook Lowell also vehemently disputed the Justice Department's statements that Cook had an opportunity to respond to the mortgage fraud accusations leveled by Bill Pulte noting that they were made just minutes before Trump called for Cook to be removed He communicated Cobb that it was the latest attempt by the Trump administration to litigate by tweet A LOOK AT THE UNFOLDING BATTLE BETWEEN TRUMP AND POWELL OVER FED POLICYLawyers for the Trump administration for their part argued that the president has broad latitude to determine the for cause provision Justice Department attorney Yakoov Roth recounted Cobb that the determination of when to invoke the provision should be left to the president regardless of whether it is viewed by others as pretextual That sounds to me like the epitome of a discretionary determination and that is when the president s power is at its apex Roth noted DOJ lawyers also noted that Cook to date has not disputed any of the assertions in question and argued that there is nothing she has declared about the statements that would cause her to not be fired What if the stated cause is demonstrably false Cobb inquired going on to cite hypothetical concerns that a president could theoretically use statements to stack federal boards with majorities As for the issue of irreparable harm Justice Department attorneys argued that it would be more harmful for Cook to remain in office arguing that the harm of having someone in office who is wrongfully there outweighs the harm of someone being wrongfully removed from office TRUMP ASKS SCOTUS TO UPHOLD FREEZE ON BILLIONS IN USAID PAYMENTSCook's attorneys commented Friday that in reviewing the lawsuit the court need not itself establish a definition of what cause means under the Federal Reserve Act Instead Lowell suggested the court should instead work backwards to determine whether the accusations leveled by Pulte were in fact backfilled by Trump to form the basis of her removal It's very challenging to come up with an -page definition of what it is Lowell commented Friday of the cause definition adding that it is far easier to come up with a one-page definition of what it's not Whatever it is it's not this Lowell announced