Driving the news: The three-person committee will investigate the allegations against Cook and determine whether there is “cause” for his removal, according to a White House memo.
- The committee will include a White House economic policy official and the heads of the Office of Government Ethics and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
- The memo says Cook is scheduled to appear at a closed hearing on Nov. 5 to present evidence and answer questions.
- Cook has the opportunity to submit a final written response by Nov. 10, the memo states. Then the committee will recommend to Trump whether there are grounds to fire her.
Flashback: Trump moved to fire Cook last summer over allegations that she misrepresented information on mortgage applications, an unprecedented attempt to remove a Fed official that went to the Supreme Court.
- Cook has denied any wrongdoing and challenged her firing in court, arguing that the president had no legal basis to fire her.
- The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in June that Cook could remain in her position, finding that the Trump administration did not give Cook sufficient notice or an opportunity to respond before firing her.
Zoom: Since then, the White House has revived efforts to fire Cook.
- The administration sent him a letter formally informing him that Trump was considering impeachment, giving him 21 days to respond to the allegations.
- Cook submitted a response denying the allegations and arguing there was no legal basis to fire her.
The other side: Cook’s lawyers said in a statement to Axios: “In light of the President’s repeated statements that he has already decided to fire Governor Cook – regardless of the facts and evidence – we have serious doubts that this ‘hearing’ is legitimate and complies with the law.
- “We have engaged with the White House to assess whether the proposed process has the potential to be authentic and not simply a box-checking exercise.”
CNBC earlier reported the news of the memo.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with comments from Lisa Cook’s attorneys.
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