DOJ opens criminal probe targeting Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook

The Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation targeting Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, the first Black woman appointed to the Fed Board, in what critics described as a politically motivated probe designed to intimidate an independent central bank official. The investigation, announced weeks before Cook's term was set for reconfirmation consideration, was seen by legal experts as an unprecedented use of federal prosecutorial power against a sitting Fed governor. Cook had been the subject of earlier Trump administration pressure to resign.