The Trump administration submitted new arguments seeking court support to remove Fed governor Cook.

On September 5, the U.S. Department of Justice presented new arguments on why President Trump should be allowed to dismiss Federal Reserve Board of Governors member Lisa Cook, stating that her claims about "the excuse for rate cuts" are unfounded. Cook has been accused of mortgage fraud and is currently challenging the dismissal decision. On Thursday, U.S. government lawyers urged the judge to again dismiss Cook's request to prohibit her dismissal during the litigation, reinforcing the arguments made at last week's hearing. Hours before this legal filing, reports emerged that the Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation into Cook. The U.S. government asserts that the fraud allegations first raised by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria constitute sufficient "grounds" under U.S. law for Trump to fire her. The Justice Department emphasized in Thursday's filing that the judge cannot "question" Trump's judgment regarding the grounds for dismissal and again dismissed her claim that the dismissal was merely an excuse to control the Fed and lower interest rates. "Her only 'evidence' is that the president has criticized the Fed's policies," the filing stated, "but mere policy disagreements do not mean the president fired Cook for that reason." (Jin10)