Trump suffers legal setback in bid to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook
Donald Trump’s bid to fire a US central bank rate-setter has suffered a setback after a federal judge blocked the move.
The president revealed last month that he was removing Lisa Cook from her post at the Federal Reserve on alleged mortgage fraud grounds.
The move was widely seen by commentators as a bid to destroy the Fed’s independence through the appointment of a new governor who would support his bid for interest rate cuts to boost the trade war-hit US economy.
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Ms Cook, who denies wrongdoing and any cause to dismiss her, was appointed to the Fed’s board by former US president Joe Biden. The board forms part of the panel that votes on US interest rate decisions.
She secured a preliminary court ruling late on Tuesday which found that the Trump administration’s claims she committed mortgage fraud prior to taking office were likely not sufficient grounds for her removal.
The White House has claimed she inaccurately described three separate properties on mortgage applications, which could have allowed her to obtain lower interest rates and tax credits.
Lisa Cook is the first black woman to serve as a Fed governor. File pic: AP
But US District Judge Jia Cobb said: “President Trump has not identified anything related to Cook’s conduct or job performance as a Board member that would indicate that she is harming the Board or the public interest by executing her duties unfaithfully or ineffectively.”
The ruling, which could yet be appealed, means she can continue in her role while her own lawsuit proceeds.
It could end up in the Supreme Court.
Mr Trump’s demands this year that the Fed cuts rates have so far fallen on deaf ears as the central bank voting has shown too much concern over trade war-linked inflation. Prices have risen as higher import duties have been passed on.
He has repeatedly called for Fed chair Jay Powell to resign but retracted threats to fire him.
The president may actually get his wish for a cut this month amid a deterioration in the employment market – also widely blamed on his trade war – as hiring has slumped.
The central bank, unlike the Bank of England, has a dual mandate to ensure maximum employment as well as keeping inflation in check.
Any rate cut would be unlikely to extinguish the Trump administration’s effort to influence monetary policy.
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The Fed’s ability to set interest rates without regard to politicians’ demands is critical to market confidence, let alone the central bank’s ability to keep inflation under control.
Neither the Fed or the White House commented on the ruling.
Ms Cook’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said: “This ruling recognises and reaffirms the importance of safeguarding the independence of the Federal Reserve from illegal political interference.”
Right-wing American influencer Charlie Kirk has died after being shot, according to Donald Trump.
The US president announced that the conservative student leader and an ally of Mr Trump had died after being shot during a university event in Orem, Utah.
“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” wrote the American leader on his Truth Social account.
“No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us.”
Earlier, witnesses said they heard a shot fired from a nearby building as Kirk spoke, a university spokesperson told Sky’s US partner NBC News.
Videos on social media show Kirk speaking into a microphone while sitting under a white tent with the slogans “The American Comeback” and “Prove Me Wrong”.
A single shot is heard and Mr Kirk can be seen reaching up with his right hand as blood comes out from the left side of his neck. He then falls off his chair.
File pic: AP
A university spokesperson confirmed he had been shot in the neck. He was then taken to hospital by private security and underwent surgery.
President Trump earlier asked people to pray for the 31-year-old conservative activist.
The father-of-two is the chief executive and co-founder of Turning Point USA, a prominent organisation that engages conservative youth on school campuses.
The university earlier said a suspect was in custody but later clarified that was not the case.
Mr Kirk and Turning Point USA played a key role in driving youth support for Mr Trump in last November’s presidential election. His events at college campuses nationwide typically draw large crowds.
President Trump often spoken favourably about Mr Kirk, including multiple times on the campaign trail last year.
File pic: AP
During a rally in Washington the day before he was sworn in for a second term in January, Mr Trump told attendees: “Charlie Kirk is here. And I want to thank Charlie. Charlie is fantastic. I mean, this guy.”
A few weeks before, during a rally in Las Vegas on 22 December 2024, Mr Trump called Mr Kirk “incredible”, adding that he “is a special talent, and he’s out there fighting”.
The president, then a candidate for the White House, also appeared last October at a Turning Point USA political rally in Phoenix.
“I want to express my tremendous gratitude to Charlie Kirk. He’s really an amazing guy. Amazing guy,” Mr Trump said.
The president, on the campaign trail last June, also lauded Mr Kirk at a Turning Point Action town hall in Phoenix, saying, “I want to thank a special person, Charlie Kirk, for his tremendous leadership.”
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The resurfacing of an affectionate greeting to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, alleged to have come from Lord Mandelson, raises huge questions.
It couldn’t have come at a worse moment – days before Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK, in which Mandelson, the UK’s ambassador to Washington, will play a significant role.
While he focuses on crafting Anglo-American collaboration on technology, his judgment is under scrutiny on both sides of the Atlantic.
Newly released files, which had been demanded by the House of Representatives Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill, appear to contain notes he sent to Jeffrey Epstein.
Follow updates: White House denies Trump behind birthday note
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The messages inside Epstein ‘birthday book’
One reads: “…wherever he is in the world, he remains my best pal!”
“Happy birthday, Jeffrey we love you!!” it concludes.
An image, apparently written by Mandelson, referring to Epstein as a ‘best pal’. Credit: U.S. House Oversight Committee
Mandelson’s connection to the billionaire, who died by suicide in prison while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges, is well documented.
A 2019 JP Morgan internal report flagged a notably close relationship between the two.
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But his alleged use of the words “best pal” suggests a closer and warmer relationship than had been previously acknowledged.
Questioned about it in 2025, the UK’s ambassador to the US expressed “deep regret” over knowing Epstein but dismissed the issue as a media “obsession”.
A picture of Epstein and Mandelson together in the ‘birthday book’ released by the US Congress. Credit: U.S. House Oversight Committee
Peter Mandelson, once dubbed “the Prince of Darkness” within Westminster, is a veteran politician who served in cabinet under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.
His appointment as UK Ambassador to the United States in February 2025 surprised many people.
Read more:
What is in Epstein’s ‘birthday book’?
It is unusual for someone considered a political heavyweight to find themselves in what is traditionally a diplomatic role.
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From May: Sky’s James Matthews questions Lord Mandelson over Jeffrey Epstein association
Asked about the alleged birthday greeting, the prime minister’s official spokesperson said Sir Keir Starmer had “full confidence” in the UK’s ambassador to the US.
The one thing sparing him any difficult questions from the White House is the fact that Mr Trump faces just as many himself over Epstein.
US
Handwriting expert says ‘Donald Trump signature’ in Epstein birthday book is ‘absolutely’ his – despite his denials
A handwriting expert has said the signature on a controversial birthday message to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein is “absolutely” US President Donald Trump’s.
Graphologist Emma Bache compared the signature with others the president wrote at the time, and told Sky News: “It is very much the signature he had in the 2000s. I can absolutely say it is Donald Trump’s.”
Newly released files handed to the United States Congress appear to contain birthday messages to billionaire paedophile Epstein from both the US president and the current British ambassador to the US, Peter Mandelson.
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Who’s in the Epstein ‘birthday book’?
They include a hand-drawing of a woman’s body, signed “Donald”, a picture of Epstein holding an outsized cheque, signed by “DJTRUMP”, and a message appearing to show Lord Mandelson calling Epstein his “best pal”.
Addressing the release of the image in a post on X, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “As I have said all along, it’s very clear President Trump did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it.”
Emma Bache said it was ‘almost impossible’ to forge President Trump’s signature
But Ms Bache was unequivocal.
“It’s incredibly distinctive. If we look at the way he has formed the ‘o’ of Donald, it’s actually a circle.
“He also has a very long horizontal stroke at the end of his name – which funnily enough is saying to people ‘keep away’ – and it’s absolutely identical in pressure, in length and formation of about every single stroke (to his current official signature).”
The note released on Monday. Pic: X/OversightDems
She said the capital ‘D’ of his name in the Epstein message, was also very distinctive and exactly the same as another letter written in 1996 and 2000.
The files were handed over following a demand by the Oversight Committee of the US Congress and are from a book compiled by Epstein’s co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell, to celebrate his 50th birthday in 2003.
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The White House said the president’s legal team was “aggressively pursuing litigation”.
Ms Bache said she was “not surprised he would deny it”.
She added: “He has an awful lot to lose, but it doesn’t affect my analysis of it.”
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‘You will listen to me – I am right’
After examining a number of his signatures under a microscope, she concluded: “The idea that it could be forged would be almost impossible. I certainly wouldn’t be able to get anywhere close to Donald Trump’s handwriting.
“It’s a very confident, very speedy signature and when you forge something, you do it more slowly.”
She said his modern signature had changed a little but still had clear similarities.
Donald Trump’s signature in more recent times as president
She added: “His modern signature is all angles and in graphology, angles are about energy, aggression, there’s a tension there.
“There’s no softness and his communication style is one of ‘you will listen to me and I am right’.
A letter sent by Trump to radio host Larry King in 1999. Pic: Julien*s auction house
And another in 2006 to lawyer George Conway shows a similar signature. Pic: George Conway/X
Ambassador’s denial
Lord Mandelson has also come under scrutiny for his relationship with Epstein – and the release of the files has compounded the issue.
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Lord Mandelson tells Sky: ‘I wish I’d never met Epstein’
They appear to include a glowing contribution from the Labour grandee, with him calling Epstein his “best pal” and writing of the friend “taking you by surprise… in one of his glorious homes he likes to share with his friends (yum yum)”.
Lord Mandelson’s spokesman said he “very much regrets ever having been introduced to Epstein”.
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