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Well, in breaking news and at least a preliminary win for the independence of the Federal Reserve, the Supreme Court has just ruled in a one line order that Lisa Cook is not going to be removed from her position on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve because Donald Trump says so to destroy the independence of the Federal Reserve to give him control over interest rates. Ultimately, because they want to have oral argument, they want to have full briefing and they want to take up the matter in January of 2026. She stays in the job as Board of Governor member until then, which means she's going to participate in the October rate setting meeting, the one in November and the one in December to set interest rates in this country. Which is for now at least a preliminary support for the independence of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors Trump won't be happy about this. Let me break it down for you here on the Midas Touch Network and on Legal af. I'm Michael Popak. Lisa Cook is one of seven of the seven members of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, which is our central bank which sets monetary policy and particularly wields one major blunt force instrument. It sets intra bank overnight interest rates, which then cascade down through interest rate setting among banks for personal loans, mortgages, student loans, credit card debt and all of that. It's one way for the Federal Reserve to promote jobs while keeping inflation low. The Donald Trump hasn't liked the rate of inflate the rate of interest that the Federal Reserve has charged because it is not giving enough free money into the economy to help paper over his failed economic policy. So he's tried to attack the independence of the Federal Reserve. He's done that in multitude of ways. First he went after Jay Powell, the Federal Reserve chairperson, accused him of fraud or waste related to the building of some buildings for the Federal Reserve. When that didn't work, he turned his attention to Lisa Cook, came up with some phony framed allegations that she took out two loans, one for a home in Ann Arbor, Michigan and one for a home in Atlanta, and she listed them both as her primary residences, presumably to get an interest rate cut. Turns out none of that is true. Didn't stop Donald Trump from effectively social media posting that she was fired, not giving her any due process. And the Supreme Court has already said in May in a case we call Wilcox v. Trump, that Donald Trump cannot at will fire a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. He has to have for cause reason, which means she's done something bad while in the job generally. He then took an appeal to the D.C. federal Appellate Court and lost 2 to 1. He then took an emergency appeal Trump did to the United States Supreme Court. And we've been waiting after full briefing several days ago for the ruling. The issue before the Supreme Court that they just ruled on is whether the stay that Donald Trump is seeking to remove her from her job, change the status quo and let them litigate on a full appeal about whether he had for cause or not, whether she got due process or not, whether he should be allowed to take her out of her job right now. And now based on this ruling, which I'll read to you, the Supreme Court has said that she's staying at her job until at least January. This is the docket entry and this is the entirety of it. We'll put it up on the screen. The application for stay presented to the Chief Justice. That's by Donald Trump asking for the stay of the injunction that kept her in her chair issued by Judge Cobb at the trial court level that's been referred to the court is deferred pending oral argument in January 2026. The clerk of the Supreme Court is directed to establish a briefing schedule for amicus curi. That's friends of the court briefs. I'll talk about that in a minute. And any supplemental briefs responding to the amici. What does that mean? That means Donald Trump didn't get his stay, didn't take her out of her chair. She remains on the Board of Governors, which is a good thing through January in an oral argument and some ruling thereafter. We probably won't get the results of the Lisa Cook oral argument on this day until sometime in February or March of 2026. The longer she stays in the job, the better it is for her legal position, the better it is for her facts supporting her legal position, and the better it is for the American economy. And I think knowing that there doesn't seem there weren't at least five votes even among the magus six on the Supreme Court to reward Donald Trump for his violating effectively their May decision not to fire Federal Reserve personnel without for cause and do it through due process.
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Donald Trump's arguments on appeal, emergency appeal, where she doesn't get due process because she's not entitled to due process even though we're taking away 13 years remaining on her term. And whatever Donald Trump says goes.
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As for Cause.
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And he had some for cause reason. And therefore she gets to go. If Donald Trump was successful, one vote actually gets him nine. Because if he gets the Federal Reserve majority by getting rid of Lisa Cook, that gives him a 4 to 3 majority on the Federal Reserve. They then the majority then fires the rest of the Federal Reserve regional Presidents. He gets 12 votes from there. And when they put together the Open Markets Committee, which sets interest rates, they take five from the regional presidents and that'll be controlled by Donald Trump. And four, and they combine it with the seven from the Federal Reserve, and five and four is nine. Nine out of 12 gives you the majority. You can set interest rates to your heart's desire. And that's what he's trying to do with Lisa Cook. Now, what's gonna happen below? This case doesn't just sit around. There's a trial court judge. Her name is Gia Cobb. She has the case. She entered the preliminary injunction. She asked for additional briefing. There should be, if I'm the lawyers representing Lisa Cook, and she's being defended by Abby Lowell. Very fine lawyer work. To supplement the record, do new briefing as requested by the judge, get an additional record prepared that can be submitted on a supplemental record to the United States Supreme Court. On. On all the information that she didn't commit mortgage fraud, on all the information that she has due process rights. Get that fully briefed teed up to within an inch of its life, and get it over to the United States Supreme Court in time for the oral argument. You know, you file a motion for supplemental briefing and supplemental materials as well and supplement the record. That's what should happen. But this is a good result, folks. And this has been a bad day for Donald Trump in terms of losses. And if you go back in the last 72 hours, he's lost several federal court cases in which his attempts to destroy the Voice of America was blocked for his violations of First Amendment. And trying to deport people that he didn't agree with was blocked with orders.
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E.J.
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Antony, who Irwin Antoni, who was gonna be the chief economist and statistician at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, setting all of the jobs data and other data. He got pulled because they found his social media posts that were disgusting, depraved, misogynistic, sexist, and bigoted against Kamala Harris and others, including using Nazi propaganda and attacking John McCain of all people. He got pulled. He's not even gonna be that candidate. He's going back to the Heritage foundation and then his U.S. attorney in Nevada that he tried to pull in Alina harbor to get her appointed when nobody wanted her and the Senate wouldn't confirm her. She got bounced and everything she touched has turned to crap. Any indictment, any criminal prosecution in Nevada gone bad week? We'll continue to follow it here on the Midas Touch Network. And while you're here, do me a personal favor. Come over to Legal AF, the subs legal YouTube channel. Sorry, hit the subscribe button which I curate 10 new videos a day at the intersection of law and politics with detailed reporting. Then come over to legalif Substack and do the exact same thing. People say how can we invest in Legal af? We don't take outside investors, but we do take subscribers and paid membership and that is a way to be a full blown card carrying member of the Legal AF community. So until my next report, I'm Michael Popak.
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Can't get your fill of Legal af?
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Me neither.
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That's why we formed the Legal AF substack. Every time we mention something in a hot take, whether it's a court filing or a oral argument, come over to the substack. You'll find the court filing and the oral argument there, including a daily roundup that I do called Wait for It Morning af. What else? All the other contributors from Legal AOFF.
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Are there as well.
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We got some new reporting, we got interviews, we got ad free versions of the podcast and hot takes where Legal AF on Substack. Come over now to free subscribe.
Legal AF - "SCOTUS Rules Against Trump and Pauses His Order"
Podcast: Legal AF by MeidasTouch
Episode Date: October 1, 2025
Hosts: Michael Popok (Primary speaker), Ben Meiselas, Karen Friedman Agnifilo
In this episode, Michael Popok provides an in-depth analysis of a major breaking legal development: the Supreme Court's decision to block Donald Trump’s attempt to remove Lisa Cook from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve. The episode breaks down the Supreme Court’s ruling, the legal background, and the broader implications for the independence of the Federal Reserve, as well as other recent legal setbacks for Trump
Main Story:
“At least a preliminary win for the independence of the Federal Reserve, the Supreme Court has just ruled in a one-line order that Lisa Cook is not going to be removed … because Donald Trump says so to destroy the independence of the Federal Reserve...” — Michael Popok [01:46]
Background:
Trump has expressed repeated frustration with the Federal Reserve, wishing to control interest rates and lambasting the Fed’s policies as not helpful for his economic agenda.
Unable to remove Jay Powell, the Fed Chair, Trump turned on Lisa Cook with unsupported allegations about mortgage fraud—claims the courts found baseless.
“He turned his attention to Lisa Cook, came up with some phony framed allegations… Turns out none of that is true.” — Michael Popok [03:05]
Trump attempted to fire Cook without due process, simply via a social media posting, despite prior Supreme Court precedent (Wilcox v. Trump, May 2025) stating he could only do so ‘for cause.’
Sequence of Appeals:
Trump’s attempt to remove Cook was blocked by both the trial court and a 2-1 decision at the D.C. federal appellate court. He then filed an emergency appeal to SCOTUS.
The Supreme Court’s order keeps Cook in her post and sets a full briefing and oral argument schedule for January 2026, with a final decision unlikely until February or March 2026.
“The longer she stays in the job, the better it is for her legal position, the better it is for the American economy.” — Michael Popok [05:45]
The Supreme Court also directed for amicus curiae ("friend of the court") briefs and additional supplemental submissions to be considered.
“The clerk of the Supreme Court is directed to establish a briefing schedule for amicus curiae ... and any supplemental briefs responding to the amici.” — Michael Popok [05:22]
Strategic Implications:
“It's been a bad day for Donald Trump in terms of losses. And if you go back in the last 72 hours, he's lost several federal court cases…” — Michael Popok [09:14]
On the Supreme Court Order:
“This is a good result folks. And this has been a bad day for Donald Trump in terms of losses.” — Michael Popok [09:48]
On the Stakes of the Case:
“If Donald Trump was successful, one vote actually gets him nine. Because if he gets the Federal Reserve majority by getting rid of Lisa Cook, that gives him a 4 to 3 majority … You can set interest rates to your heart’s desire. And that’s what he’s trying to do with Lisa Cook.” — Michael Popok [08:03]
On SCOTUS’s Approach:
“There weren't at least five votes even among the MAGA six on the Supreme Court to reward Donald Trump for his violating effectively their May decision not to fire Federal Reserve personnel without for cause and do it through due process.” — Michael Popok [05:58]
On Legal AF’s Role:
“While you’re here, do me a personal favor. Come over to Legal AF, the subs legal YouTube channel… 10 new videos a day at the intersection of law and politics with detailed reporting.” — Michael Popok [10:40]
This episode delivers a deep dive into the legal clash between Donald Trump and institutional safeguards around the Federal Reserve’s independence, spotlighting the Supreme Court’s critical role in checking executive overreach. Michael Popok’s legal breakdowns are thorough, emphasizing both the legal nuances and the broader political stakes, while celebrating a momentary preservation of due process and central banking autonomy.
Listeners are left with the sense that the stakes remain high, further legal drama is imminent, and the courts continue to be a decisive arena in the fight over American institutions.