Fed’s Cook called Atlanta property a vacation home, records show

Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook described an Atlanta property at the center of a lawsuit over her attempted ouster as a “vacation home,” according to documents viewed by Bloomberg News.

The May 28, 2021, loan estimate was issued by a credit union to Cook weeks before she ultimately purchased the home. The document shows she told the lender that the property wouldn’t be her primary residence.

The records were first reported by Reuters, which cited two real estate experts who said the documents appear to contradict other records Trump administration officials have used to justify Cook’s removal from the Fed Board of Governors. 

READ MORE: Cook allegations suggest new mortgage fraud priorities

Trump officials have accused the Biden appointee of mortgage fraud, pointing to two loan documents signed by Cook — for the property in Atlanta and a separate one in Michigan — that included clauses that she would occupy the homes as primary residences. The real estate transactions predated her time on the Fed.

Cook sued President Donald Trump last month after he moved to fire her over the mortgage-fraud allegations. The lawsuit has emerged as a major flash point in the growing clash between the White House and the Fed, which has resisted Trump’s demands to lower interest rates amid worries over inflation.

Cook’s lawyers have said that if there were any errors in the mortgage documents she didn’t mean to deceive anyone, and no one was harmed, a standard known as materiality. They have also suggested that an unintentional “clerical error” may have been behind the dispute.

READ MORE: Occupancy fraud scrutiny raises questions for lenders

The Justice Department, which opened a criminal probe into the allegations, is appealing a judge’s decision blocking Trump from ousting Cook. An appeals court asked for written arguments over the weekend before the Fed’s upcoming vote on interest rates, suggesting a decision as soon as Sunday evening.

Fed officials are expected to lower rates by a quarter-point at their Sept. 16-17 gathering. Cook’s participation in the meeting is not expected to change the outcome.