BREAKING: Grand Juries Now Involved in Lisa Cook Mortgage Fraud Investigations, with Glenn Greenwald

Let’s start with Lisa Cook. Just because the Federal Housing official, Bill Py, referred her case to the DOJ doesn’t mean the DOJ will necessarily pursue it or indict her through a grand jury. But from our information, that’s exactly what’s happening. She allegedly committed fraud—charges she denies—in three different jurisdictions: Ann Arbor, Michigan; Atlanta, Georgia; and Cambridge, Massachusetts. We’re told the grand jury was opened in Atlanta, although the FBI is investigating at least two of the three cases.

The possible charges being considered include mortgage fraud and wire fraud, and they could go beyond that. Now, Cook—through her attorney Abbe Lowell—is arguing that she can’t be fired for these alleged offenses because she supposedly disclosed them during her 2022 confirmation process with the Biden administration. But here’s the thing: you can’t “disclose away” crimes and then say you’re immune from consequences just because someone in a past administration may have overlooked them. If it’s criminal, it’s criminal—regardless of when it was revealed or to whom.

Also, I have serious doubts about whether she actually disclosed what her lawyer is now claiming she did. It’s the classic “Princess Bride” moment: “I do not think that word means what you think it means.” Abbe Lowell is citing as evidence that she supposedly disclosed all this during the vetting process, saying that Cook reported in background forms that:

Her Michigan house was her primary residence and her Georgia condo was her second home.

On another document, she listed both of those addresses and her Massachusetts condo as her current residences, identifying the Michigan home as her permanent residence and the Cambridge condo as both a second home and a rental property.

That’s not a confession. That’s just listing addresses—something required for financial disclosures, not criminal admissions. Nothing about that would tip off vetting officials—or senators—that she was allegedly committing mortgage fraud by falsely designating rental properties as primary residences to get better mortgage rates and terms.

Even if you take her disclosures at face value, they do not amount to admitting wrongdoing. The argument from her legal team is basically nonsense—and that’s a legal term only lawyers like us understand, right? I had a whole course on recognizing legal nonsense in law school.

To clarify, mortgage fraud of this kind typically involves making false statements to banks—like claiming a property is your primary residence when it’s not—to obtain better rates. And in Cook’s case, she’s alleged to have claimed multiple properties as her “primary residence,” which is legally impossible. That’s fraud, not an innocent mistake. What she disclosed during the vetting process doesn’t even touch this issue. So this defense falls apart under scrutiny.

Now, beyond just keeping her job, she may need to focus on keeping her freedom. The charges—wire fraud, mortgage fraud, and more—are serious. As we first reported on the Megyn Kelly Show, the DOJ has opened a grand jury in Atlanta, and the Wall Street Journal has now confirmed this with reporting that the DOJ is issuing subpoenas in both Georgia and Michigan. FBI investigations are ongoing, and this is gaining momentum.

If Cook had truly disclosed this fraud during her Senate confirmation, there would be a record. Where’s the senator who was supposedly told she falsified mortgage documents to secure lower rates and down payments? We would have heard about it. This was a contentious, 50-50 confirmation that required a tie-breaking vote from Kamala Harris. If any of this had come up, Republicans would have pounced on it. It wasn’t disclosed, and they know it.

The idea that the Biden administration knew all about this and approved her anyway is frankly insulting. It assumes we’re all stupid. If that were true, this would’ve been front and center during her confirmation hearing—but it wasn’t. That alone tells you the “disclosure” defense is bogus.

And let’s talk about how the media has covered this. When Trump said he wanted to fire her, the narrative immediately became, “This is Trump attacking the independence of the Fed.” The media painted this as purely political—targeting a Black woman who didn’t align with his economic policies. There was no consideration that the allegations might have merit. It was only after media outlets dug deeper and uncovered evidence that the story started shifting.

Now, some are trying to argue that she can’t be fired because she already disclosed these issues, even though what she disclosed wasn’t evidence of fraud. That’s a major stretch. Her attorney, Abbe Lowell, filed a motion to prevent her firing, claiming she submitted documents during her confirmation that included the same supposed contradictions the government is now citing. But just listing multiple addresses isn’t proof of innocence or transparency—it’s not even relevant to the fraud being alleged.

Then there’s the media spin. On MSNBC’s Morning Joe, national affairs analyst John Heilemann suggested Cook is somehow a symbol of due process violations in the “Trump 2.0” era—comparing her situation to people being detained without charges and deported to foreign prisons. That’s absurd. No one is saying she should be imprisoned without trial. The issue is whether someone under credible criminal investigation should remain on the Federal Reserve Board—the body that sets monetary policy for the U.S.

Let’s be clear: no one is denying her right to due process in a criminal context. But this isn’t about jail—it’s about whether she should retain one of the most powerful economic positions in the country while under active investigation. That’s a totally different matter.

And frankly, the idea that she’s clinging to this position when it could be putting her legal future in jeopardy is bizarre. If she stepped away, some of this might quietly go away. But she’s hanging on, and the defense is getting weaker and more desperate.