
周五,唐纳德·特朗普总统签署了一项行政命令,指示司法部长及其他联邦高级官员组建一个委员会,对美联储理事丽莎·库克展开调查,这是他试图罢免库克的最新举措。白宫官网发布的总统备忘录中写道:“依据《美国宪法》及法律赋予总统的权力,我特此设立一个调查委员会,负责调查有关美联储理事丽莎·D·库克在一份或多份抵押贷款文件中作出虚假陈述的指控。”
备忘录还指出,该委员会将“调查针对库克的各项指控,并向我汇报是否有理由将其免职”。此外,备忘录还规定:“库克理事可就相关指控向委员会提交书面陈述。”
此前,今年8月一位白宫高级官员曾致信库克,称特朗普正考虑将其从美联储理事会除名。此次白宫发布的公告实属史无前例。备忘录还要求库克“必须出席委员会的听证会并接受质询”,同时“需就相关证据及指控提交书面论据、证据材料以及证人的书面证言”。听证会定于11月5日举行,即中期选举两天之后。迄今为止,尚无任何一位总统成功罢免过美联储的高级官员。
President Donald Trump on Friday signed an order directing the attorney general and other top federal officials to establish a committee to investigate Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, in his latest attempt to fire her.
此次行政命令的发布正值6月份最高法院作出裁决之后。当时最高法院裁定库克可暂时继续留任,但并未永久阻止特朗普将其免职,只是判定库克有权获得自我辩护的机会。特朗普此次行动的根源可追溯至2025年8月,当时美国联邦住房金融局局长比尔·普尔特首次对库克提出了相关指控。
特朗普在社交媒体上大肆宣扬这些指控,并援引所谓普尔特提交给司法部的“犯罪举报材料”,试图将库克从美联储理事会中撤下。普尔特声称库克涉嫌抵押贷款欺诈,但NBC新闻获取并审核的相关文件显示,库克当时声明该房产仅作为“度假屋”使用,并非其主要住所。作为美联储理事会成员,库克拥有利率决策的永久投票权。
“By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby establish a committee of inquiry (Committee) to investigate allegations that Federal Reserve Governor Lisa D. Cook made false statements in connection with one or more mortgage instruments,” read a presidential memorandum posted to the White House website.
特朗普与普尔特对库克的攻击,正值政府长期施压要求美联储降息之际。在这场持续一年多的纷争中,库克始终坚称自己并未违规。就在几周前,库克的律师再次向白宫声明:“特朗普总统并无合法依据以‘行为失当’为由罢免库克理事。”8月26日,阿贝·洛厄尔指出:“无心之失并不等同于欺诈,总统及其内阁中约三分之一成员想必深谙此理——据报道他们自己也犯过类似错误。对库克理事的攻击根本与房产文件无关,而是特朗普试图迫使美联储屈从其意志的手段。”
洛厄尔还表示,他和库克已做好准备,坚决抵制“任何非法罢免库克理事的企图”。对于周五出现的最新事态,库克的法律团队暂未作出回应。
It said that the committee would “investigate the allegations against Governor Cook and report to me whether there is “cause for Governor Cook’s removal.” “Governor Cook may submit a written position statement to the Committee regarding the allegations,” the memorandum said. The unprecedented White House announcement comes after a top White House official in August wrote a letter to Cook, saying that Trump was considering removing her from the Federal Reserve board. The White House memorandum said that Cook “shall appear at the hearing and be examined by the Committee” as well as “present argument, written evidence, and written witness statements regarding the evidence and allegations.” The committee is set to meet on November 5 for the hearing, two days after the midterm elections. No president has ever fired a top Fed official. The letter Friday follows a June Supreme Court ruling, which allowed Cook to remain in her job for now. But the justices did not permanently block Trump from removing Cook, instead ruling that she had the right to an opportunity to defend herself. Trump’s latest move stems from allegations first leveled against Cook in August 2025 by Federal Housing Finance Authority chief Bill Pulte. Trump amplified those allegations on social media and, citing a “criminal referral” he said Pulte had sent to the Justice Department, attempted to remove her from the Fed’s board. Pulte alleged that Cook committed mortgage fraud, however documents obtained and reviewed by NBC News later revealed that Cook declared that the property in question was to be used as a “vacation home” and not her primary residence. Cook, a Governor on the Federal Reserve’s Board, has a permanent vote on interest rates. Trump and Pulte’s attacks on Cook came amid a long-running pressure campaign by the administration to get the U.S. central bank to cut interest rates. Throughout the more than year-long battle, Cook has consistently maintained that she did nothing wrong. Just weeks ago, Cook’s lawyer told the White House for a second time that “there is no legal basis for President Trump to remove Governor Cook for cause.” “An inadvertent error is not fraud, as the President and a third of his cabinet should know because they reportedly did the same thing,” said Abbe Lowell on August 26. “These attacks on Governor Cook are not about real estate paperwork; they are an attempt by President Trump to force the Federal Reserve to bend to his will.” Lowell said he and Cook were prepared to continue to fight “any illegal attempt to remove Governor Cook.” Cook’s legal team did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday about the latest development.