Footage obtained by independent journalist Charlie LeDuff appears to show that a Michigan home listed as the “primary residence” of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook is occupied by paying tenants.
Cook, who was removed from the Fed’s Board of Governors last month by President Trump, is expected to challenge the dismissal in a case likely headed to the Supreme Court. In his termination letter, Trump cited allegations of mortgage fraud raised by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William J. Pulte and argued the Federal Reserve Act gives him authority to fire her.
“For example, as detailed in the Criminal Referral, you signed one document attesting that a property in Michigan would be your primary residence for the next year.
“Two weeks later, you signed another document for a property in Georgia stating that it would be your primary residence for the next year,” the president continued. “It is inconceivable that you were not aware of your first commitment when making the second. It is impossible that you intended to honor both.”
Trump went on to claim that Cook’s “deceitful and potentially criminal conduct” exhibits “the sort of gross negligence in financial transactions that calls into question your competence and trustworthiness as a financial regulator.”
Cook has denied any wrongdoing, but on Tuesday, the controversy intensified when Pulte released video from independent reporter LeDuff knocking on the door of Cook’s Ann Arbor property, one of the residences she has listed as her primary home.
PLAY:
NEW: VIDEO PROOF
We have just received video proof that Lisa Cook’s declared “PRIMARY RESIDENCE” is being RENTED out to tenants.
Cook RECENTLY CLAIMED to the U.S. Government that it was her PERSONAL RESIDENCE, but she’s renting it out?
Good journalism, @Charlieleduff pic.twitter.com/YMIN2dHJGm
— Pulte (@pulte) September 2, 2025
“There’s a key lock box right there. There’s a white man at the dining room table. It’s weird, I don’t think she’s married,” LeDuff remarked while waiting for an answer. A man eventually came to the door, where LeDuff identified himself and explained the property was in the news. When asked if he was the homeowner, the man replied, “we’re just renting.”
“You’ll have to talk to the owner,” the apparent tenant added. LeDuff then repeated the question, at which point the unidentified man once again told him to “talk to the owner.”
Last week, Pulte submitted a second criminal referral against Cook, who is simultaneously fighting to keep her position in a high-profile lawsuit that could reach the Supreme Court.
