By Ann Saphir and Michael S. Derby
June 18 (Reuters) – Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, who is fighting an effort by U.S. President Donald Trump to fire her over mortgage fraud allegations she says are untrue, disclosed on Thursday extensive payments associated with her legal case as well as payments made on her behalf for security work.
Cook reported almost $1.2 million in legal services payments as her case has made its way up to the Supreme Court, in a filing made public on Thursday by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics.
The filing listed legal services payments on Cook’s behalf totaling $696,346 from the State Democracy Defenders Fund and $477,951 from Contina Impact. The filing also noted that Contina Impact paid $143,908 for “security services,” and that three personal friends of Cook also made contributions on the Fed governor’s behalf for security work.
According to Candid’s Guidestar, State Democracy Defenders Fund derives its funding from a number of donors, including the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Open Society Action Fund. The State Democracy Defenders Fund counts as a director Norm Eisen, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
The State Democracy Defenders Fund is currently being targeted by Republicans in Congress over whether it is using funds in a manner consistent with its publicly stated purpose.
The Supreme Court is expected by the end of this month to rule in Cook’s case, which is seen as pivotal to the U.S. central bank’s retaining the ability to make monetary policy free of political pressures.
Trump attempted to fire Cook from the central bank in August over unsubstantiated claims of impropriety involving mortgage borrowing. Cook contested her firing, which has thus far been blocked by courts.
(Reporting by Ann Saphir and Michael S. Derby; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
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