Abbe Lowell, the attorney representing Federal Reserve board member Lisa Cook, pushed back forcefully Monday against what he called a politically motivated campaign by President Trump and Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte to pursue criminal mortgage fraud charges against his client. In an appearance on CNN, Lowell declared that their efforts “won’t succeed,” casting the legal threat as an abuse of prosecutorial power.
Lowell’s defiance comes hours after the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 against Trump’s bid to remove Cook from the Fed board, with Chief Justice John Roberts writing that she was “entitled to notice and some opportunity to respond prior to her termination.” The decision, joined by Justice Brett Kavanaugh and the court’s three liberal justices, temporarily shields Cook from dismissal, but Trump and Pulte—who also serves as acting Director of National Intelligence—vowed to press forward with a criminal indictment.
“Do I think that there’s grounds to indict her? No. Do I think that any real prosecutor in America would present it? No. Do I think in a different era this could even be something that you and I would talk about? No,” Lowell said on CNN’s “The Source with Kaitlan Collins.” He warned that Trump might direct loyalist prosecutors to pursue the case, but predicted they would fail, just as he said previous efforts against other targets had.
Lowell pointed to the unsuccessful mortgage fraud case against New York Attorney General Letitia James—another client of his—as a parallel. “They won’t succeed,” he said, referencing two U.S. attorneys, Alina Habba and Lindsey Halligan, who were forced out after attempting to carry out Trump’s directives. The Trump administration, Lowell argued, “basically mislead or misdirect or do things to get indictments where they don’t belong.”
Trump responded on Truth Social, framing the Supreme Court’s decision as a narrow procedural setback. “The Cook Lawsuit … was sent back by the Supreme Court on a strictly procedural basis, we will take appropriate action immediately to make sure that someone who has committed wrongdoing will not be making vital decisions,” he wrote. Pulte, who has been pressing mortgage fraud allegations against Cook, is expected to coordinate with the administration on next steps.
The case has drawn sharp partisan lines, with dissenting Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett arguing that the president should have broader authority over Fed board members. Meanwhile, legal experts note that the high court’s ruling buys Cook time but leaves the door open for further legal battles, including a potential criminal referral from the FHFA.
For now, Cook remains on the Fed board while the administration explores new avenues to remove her. The political stakes are high, as the Fed’s independence has become a flashpoint in Trump’s broader campaign to reshape federal agencies. Lowell’s combative stance signals that Cook’s legal team is prepared for a protracted fight, even as the White House signals it will not relent.
