Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, who is fighting President Donald Trump’s effort to remove her over mortgage fraud allegations she says are false, disclosed on Thursday the scale of her legal and security expenses. Public documents released by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics show she has spent about $1.2 million on legal services while the case has been before the Supreme Court, pushing the total bill above $1.3 million once security costs are included.
According to Reuters, the filings list $696,346 in legal payments from the State Democracy Defenders Fund and $477,951 from the nonprofit Contina Impact. Contina Impact also paid $143,908 for security services, and three of Cook’s friends also contributed to the effort.
Candide’s GuideStar says the State Democracy Defenders Fund is financed by several donors, including the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Open Society Action Fund. The fund is led by Norm Eisen, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and has drawn scrutiny from Republicans in Congress over whether it is using its money in line with its stated mission.
The Supreme Court is expected to rule by the end of the month in Cook’s case, which has become a test of whether the central bank can set policy independently despite political pressure. Trump tried to fire Cook in August based on what the article describes as unsubstantiated claims that she improperly used mortgage loans, but courts have so far blocked the move. Her battle is part of Trump’s broader campaign against the Fed in his second term, including criticism of its refusal to cut interest rates and a Justice Department effort against Fed Governor Jerome Powell over alleged overspending at the central bank’s headquarters. Powell denied the accusations, calling them retaliation for his refusal to lower rates, and the probe was later handed to the Fed’s inspector general. Its conclusion later cleared the way for the Senate to confirm Kevin Warsh as the central bank’s chair pick.
