Fed’s Cook taps top D.C. lawyer in Trump fight

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By Sara Merken

What's going on today?

REUTERS/Sarah Silbiger/File Photo

Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, fighting President Trump's unprecedented effort to fire her from the central bank, has tapped a prominent D.C. lawyer who launched a new firm this year to represent officials targeted by the Republican president.

Abbe Lowell, whose clientele includes Hunter Biden and New York Attorney General Letitia James, said today that he and Cook will file a lawsuit after Trump announced he was firing Cook over mortgage fraud allegations.

Lowell in a statement said Trump lacks authority to remove Cook from the politically independent Fed. "His attempt to fire her, based solely on a referral letter, lacks any factual or legal basis," he said. Mike Scarcella has the story.

Read more:

>> Fed Governor Cook will sue Trump to keep her job, lawyer says

>> Can Trump fire Fed's Cook? What's known about the legal premise

>> Mantra of central bank independence shaken by Trump moves on Fed

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

A federal judge threw out an unusual lawsuit the Trump administration filed against every federal judge in Maryland over an order slowing down efforts to swiftly deport people it believes are in the country illegally.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Thomas Cullen, an appointee of Donald Trump from Roanoke, Virginia, brought in to oversee the case in Baltimore, marked a setback for the administration's battle against judicial orders stymieing the president's agenda. Representatives for the DOJ did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The ruling highlighted the judiciary's increasing frustration with the Trump administration's aggressive litigation tactics, which have included filing misconduct complaints against judges and stonewalling an order to provide details about the illegal deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an alleged gang member, to El Salvador.

Read more about the decision from Nate Raymond and Jan Wolfe.

"What to do with this mess?" That was the question U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein posed last month to bitterly squabbling plaintiffs lawyers in a class action over French bank BNP Paribas's alleged role in financing the Sudanese government's human rights abuses during the regime of former president Omar al-Bashir. The case is headed for a 10-week trial in Manhattan federal court on September 8, but the nasty brawl between lawyers for the alleged victims has thrown a wrench into the plans, Jenna Greene writes in On the Case. Read more.

Australia accused Iran of directing two antisemitic arson attacks in the cities of Sydney and Melbourne and gave Tehran's ambassador seven days to leave the country … South Korean President Lee Jae Myung is leaning on promises to "Make America Shipbuilding Great Again" during his first official U.S. trip … An initial inquiry said a Hamas camera was the target of the Israeli strike that killed journalists … Pop superstar Taylor Swift and NFL player Travis Kelce are engaged to be married … Nvidia's business in China will be the focus of investors when the AI chipmaker reports earnings. Plus: Inside ICE, Trump's migrant crackdown is taking a toll on officers.

sara.merken@thomsonreuters.com

@saramerken

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