A weekly roundup of just a few items from Howard Bashman's How Appealing blog, the Web's first blog devoted to appellate litigation. Check out these stories and more at How Appealing. "Fed Independence Reaches Its Moment of Truth as Supreme Court Weighs Cook's Fate; High court to decide whether Trump can remove board member, which former officials see as threat to central bank independence": Nick Timiraos of The Wall Street Journal has this report.
Lawyers with the justice department have issued subpoenas for the investigation, according to the Wall Street Journal. Last month, Trump moved to fire Cook over unconfirmed claims that she listed two properties as her primary residence. Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing and Finance Agency and a close ally of Trump, alleged Cook had lied on bank documents and records to obtain a better mortgage rate.
He is breaking with decades of precedent and allegedly the law to attempt to fire Lisa Cook, a Biden-era appointee to the bank's board of governors. It appears to be part of his campaign to demand lower interest rates, which is a lousy policy when inflation hasn't quite cooled. Trump has done little otherwise to bring prices down. His aggressive tariff regime, certainly, will punish many families - especially when it's not coupled with a new industrial policy or jobs program.