James Fishback, CEO of investment firm Azoria, told Newsmax on Tuesday that he filed a 14-page amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to affirm President Donald Trump's authority to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.
Appearing on "Carl Higbie FRONTLINE," Fishback cast the dispute as a basic question under Article II of the Constitution: "Either the president is the chief executive, or he isn't," he said, arguing Cook should be removable over alleged mortgage-fraud conduct.
Fishback's brief, filed earlier Tuesday, argued that alleged misrepresentations on mortgage documents meet the Federal Reserve Act's "for cause" removal standard for governors, who otherwise serve 14-year terms.
He told Newsmax if a business owner can fire a "fry cook," a president should be able to fire a Fed governor.
Cook and her allies say that analogy ignores the Fed's statutory independence and the need to shield monetary policy from day-to-day politics.
The case is unprecedented and has drawn intense outside interest because it could redefine the boundary between presidential control and central-bank independence.
The Supreme Court's handling of the emergency application could set the tone for the separation-of-powers fight now surrounding the central bank.
Cook has urged the justices to reject Trump's attempt, saying the allegations are baseless and that removing a sitting governor would destabilize markets. Lower courts have blocked her ouster while litigation proceeds.
Trump's legal team countered that the alleged conduct undermines confidence in a key financial regulator and satisfies the statute's "cause" requirement.
Beyond the Cook fight, the political stakes around the Fed have risen after Governor Adriana Kugler's August resignation, which created a vacancy Trump can fill. Financial-press reporting has floated Fishback among potential candidates for that open seat.
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