Abbe Lowell tells the White House he has significant concerns about the committee's objectivity
Abbe David LowellLawyer for Lisa Cook, in a letter to White House counsel William Scharf reported by the AP
In a letter to White House counsel William Scharf, Cook's lawyer says she cannot attend a November 5 hearing because of official meetings in Europe, raises significant concerns about the committee's objectivity, and notes that member Kevin Hassett has already said the president has cause to fire her.
Responding to
Lisa Cook claimed homes in Atlanta and Michigan as her primary residence on separate mortgage agreements and later rented out the Atlanta property, allegations Trump's committee is to weigh as possible cause to remove her from the Federal Reserve Board.
“we have significant concerns regarding the objectivity and fitness of the committee for its assigned purpose.”
Reporting
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Trump orders a White House hearing on firing Fed Governor Lisa Cook over mortgage allegations; her lawyers call the panel biased
Trump's October 7, 2026 memorandum created a three-member White House committee to investigate allegations that Fed Governor Lisa Cook made false statements on mortgage documents and to recommend whether there is cause to remove her. Her lawyers call the panel biased, and committee member Kevin Hassett says the hearing will take place in December.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
The AP reports a letter Abbe Lowell sent to White House counsel William Scharf saying Cook cannot attend a November 5 hearing because of official meetings in Europe, that the earliest she could appear is after the Fed's December 8-9 meeting, and that the committee is biased because one member, Kevin Hassett, has already said the president has cause to fire her.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Reporting
About this source
Fox Business reports, citing Reuters, that Abbe Lowell's October 13 letter questioned Kevin Hassett's place on the committee, saying Hassett had pressed Cook to take leave and suggested Trump had cause to fire her, and asked to delay the November 5 hearing until after the Fed's December 8-9 meeting.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
The AP reports that Lowell's letter says Cook cannot take part in a hearing on November 5 because she will be at financial and monetary policy meetings in Europe, and that the earliest she could appear is after the Fed's December 8-9 policy meeting.
After the quotation
The letter notes that one committee member, Kevin Hassett, has already said the president has "cause" to fire Cook, and says a hearing with "demonstrably biased members" and unspecified additional allegations does not respect the appearance or history of independence.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is the committee of inquiry Trump created to decide whether Cook made false statements on mortgage documents and should be removed from the Fed board. Lowell questions the committee's objectivity and fitness and calls its members biased, which condemns the process.
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More from this case
Read the full caseKevin Hassett says the president asked a small set of his people to run a completely fair process on Cook
“The president has asked a small set of his people to run a completely fair process that puts all the information on the table, and then the president will decide next steps”Read statement
Cook's lawyers say an objective inquiry would find she did not commit mortgage fraud
“But if it is anything close to objective, the conclusion will be that Governor Cook did not commit mortgage fraud, leaving no cause to remove her from the Federal Reserve Board.”Read statement
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- Abbe Lowell tells the White House he has significant concerns about the committee's objectivity
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The Dispute Index. "Abbe Lowell tells the White House he has significant concerns about the committee's objectivity". First published: 2026-11-06. Last updated: 2026-11-06. https://disputeindex.com/events/8309-in-a-letter-to-white-house-counsel-william