WASHINGTON (TNND) -- Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, who is under federal investigation for mortgage fraud allegations, is challenging her termination after she was fired by President Donald Trump.
The White House defended its decision to terminate her.
"The President exercised his lawful authority to remove a governor on the federal board of governors for cause under 12 U.S.C. 242. The President determined there was cause to remove a governor who was credibly accused of lying in financial documents from a highly sensitive position overseeing financial institutions," a White House spokesperson said, in part, in a statement.
Steve Moore, who is a former White House economic advisor, said it is "a serious" accusation.
If you have something like this on your record, it is disqualifying. There's no question about it," he said. "Mortgage fraud, which this would be - and again, this is only an allegation. She's not been convicted of anything -- but if it is true, she cannot be on the Federal Reserve Board."
Moore went on to say that one of the factors that caused the 2008 financial crisis included people lying on their mortgage applications.
It caused huge forfeitures on loans, and it caused the great collapse of the American economy, so this is a serious allegation," Moore said.
I don't know all the facts -- and I don't think anyone does -- but if it had been me and this allegation had been made against me and I was not guilty of it, I would just come forward and say, 'Look, here are the documents. I didn't do this,'" he added. "Now, if she did do it, she should probably have some kind of explanation, like, 'This was a mistake. I make a mistake.' But she's been indignant about it and she won't give anybody an explanation of what happened and I think Trump felt that she could not serve on the Federal Reserve Board any longer."
Jeffcoat also asked Moore about the economy, trade, and energy production. Given how energy production is a major factor in inflation, she said, she wanted to know Moore's perspective on inflation in the long-term and if the U.S. will see impacts due to the increased tariffs, as well as if energy will offset concerns about inflation.
"The inflation rate is down. It's down to about 2.5%," Moore said. "We want it down to 2%, so it's still a little above where we'd like it, Jan. But it has come down. I feel pretty confident that the direction of things overall for the economy is looking excellent, so I do believe that the fed will cut interest rates in September and the only question is how much they will cut them by."