Trump team makes mortgage fraud its newest revenge tool

Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook is the latest target of one of the Trump administration's new pathways to pursue its perceived enemies: alleged mortgage fraud.The big picture: Trump has waged a revenge tour from his seat in the White House, with prominent members of his grudge list now facing probes from a MAGA-aligned DOJ. If the accusation against Cook evoked a sense of déjà vu, that's because the Trump administration is also investigating Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) on similar grounds.Driving the news: Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, a Trump ally, referred Cook to the DOJ over allegations she "falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, potentially committing mortgage fraud under the criminal statutes."Pulte alleged that Cook took out a mortgage on a property in Michigan, which she represented as her principal residence — and shortly after, took out a loan on a condo in Atlanta that was also described as her principal residence. He further alleged she listed the condo as a rental property in 2022.Trump subsequently called for her resignation. It comes as the president has sought leadership of the central bank that will be more responsive to his rate-cutting instincts.Cook was appointed to the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors in 2022 by then-President Biden, and her current term runs until 2038. Axios' Neil Irwin describes her as a relatively dovish member of the board, who ironically has shown openness to the kinds of interest rate cuts Trump is seeking.Worth noting: Trump and his company were found liable by a New York judge for inflating his net worth in his civil fraud case, in which James accused him of overstating his worth to obtain favorable treatment from lenders.Trump has challenged the ruling. A White House official told Axios that "[n]o one is above the law" and that Trump's "only retribution is success and historic achievements."Context: Mortgage fraud is defined as a material misstatement, misrepresentation or omission related to a mortgage loan.But it is not the same as making a paperwork error in a mortgage document. A recent LoanLogics report found that around 11.5% of all U.S. mortgage loan file content contained errors or missing information over the past decade.Zoom out: The president has also accused Schiff — a longtime foe and a member of the House Select Committee that investigated the Jan. 6 riot — of engaging in an alleged "sustained pattern of possible Mortgage Fraud," a claim Schiff slammed as a "baseless attempt at political retribution."Schiff, in a video shared last month, dismissed Trump's claims against him as "false," saying, "the basis of his accusation is that I own a home in Maryland and I own a home in California."He continued, "Big surprise, members of Congress, almost all of them own more than one home or rent more than one home."Flashback: Earlier this year, Pulte alleged in a criminal referral to Justice Department officials that James, who successfully brought a civil fraud case against Trump, had "falsified bank documents and property records to acquire government backed assistance and loans and more favorable loan terms."James' attorney, Abbe David Lowell, described the allegations as "improper political retribution" in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi. He acknowledged mistakes on mortgage documents — like James' father referring to her as his spouse — but said Pulte had "omitted numerous other records ... which refute the allegations of impropriety or make clear that a mistake on one line had no significance."Between the lines: The president's ire burns hot for those involved in his legal cases and the litany of investigations he faced.The Justice Department issued two subpoenas to Jame earlier this month, including one requesting information related to the president's civil fraud trial. The DOJ is investigating whether her office violated Trump's civil rights.What we're watching: Ed Martin, who was tapped to lead the DOJ's so-called Weaponization Working Group, told Fox News' Maria Bartiromo over the weekend that "if somebody did something wrong," referring to James and Schiff, "we're not only going to hold them accountable, we're also going to look at everything else that they've been doing."Martin continued, "When you're a liar, you lie, not just on one thing. When you're a cheater, you cheat, not just on one thing."Go deeper: Trump's "enemies within" listEditor's note: This story has been updated with a comment from the White House.

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