Treasury Secretary Mortgage Applications Mirror Those of Federal Reserve Governor Trump Has Accused of Fraud

Secretary Scott Bessent reportedly once used two different houses as his “principal residence” at the same time on mortgage documents, a similar situation to that of an embattled Federal Reserve governor, Lisa Cook.President Trump has claimed Ms. Cook committed mortgage fraud and is trying to oust her from the Fed.Occupancy clauses are a standard part of the mortgage process and lenders generally offer lower rates for primary residences than for second homes.Mr. Bessent had mortgage paperwork for principal residences in both New York and Massachusetts at the same time in 2007, according to Bloomberg. The news outlet says there is no sign of wrongdoing on Mr. Bessent’s part but the discrepancy shows how home-loan paperwork is not necessarily proof of fraud.Ms. Cook had mortgage documents in 2021 for a home in Michigan and a condo at Atlanta but the lender for Ms. Cook’s Georgia property wasn’t expecting her to live there full time and referred to it as a vacation home.Mr. Bessent’s mortgage paperwork shows that his lender also didn’t expect him to occupy both homes as primary residences. Unlike Ms. Cook, Mr. Bessent didn’t actually sign his mortgage documents in question. They were signed by a lawyer, Charles Rich, who had power of attorney to sign on his behalf, according to the report.Mr. Rich told Bloomberg that Bank of America — which extended the mortgages — was aware of both residences. “There was absolutely nothing improper about Mr. Bessent’s loan applications with which he was minimally involved as he had delegated authority to me,” Mr. Rich told the news outlet in a written statement.“There are people who think that President Trump is putting undue pressure on the Fed,” Mr. Bessent said on Fox Business Network last month. “And there are people like President Trump and myself who think that if a Fed official committed mortgage fraud, that this should be examined, and that they shouldn’t be serving as one of the nation’s leading financial regulators.”A lawyer for Mr. Bessent told Bloomberg he couldn’t comment on the comparisons between Ms. Cook and Mr. Bessent’s mortgage situations because he didn’t have enough knowledge about Ms. Cook’s mortgages.A federal appeals court at Washington, D.C., has blocked Mr. Trump’s attempt to fire Ms. Cook from the central bank’s board of governors, saying that the president gave her no “process” to refute the fraud allegations.Ms. Cook sued Mr. Trump in August, saying he doesn’t have the authority to fire her. A district court judge ruled in her favor, and on Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit affirmed that decision. The ruling has allowed Ms. Cook to take part in Federal Open Market Committee meetings this week to set the Fed’s interest rates. Mr. Trump has been applying vocal pressure on the Fed and its chairman, Jerome Powell, over interest rates. Mr. Trump says the Fed has been too slow to lower rates.

Treasury Secretary Mortgage Applications Mirror Those of Federal Reserve Governor Trump Has Accused of Fraud

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