Key points: The White House announced that U.S. President Donald Trump has set up an investigative committee to examine allegations that Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook made false statements related to mortgage matters.

Cook was nominated by former President Biden, and Trump had previously attempted to remove her from office, but the Supreme Court blocked his first removal attempt.

All three members of the committee are officials from executive branch agencies appointed by Trump.

The White House publicly announced on Friday that U.S. President Donald Trump has formally established an "investigative committee" to investigate allegations against Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook: that she allegedly made false statements regarding "one or more mortgage documents." This unusual announcement is the latest development in Trump's long-standing effort to remove Biden-nominated Cook from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.

Trump has frequently publicly urged the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates. Recently, he said that his personally chosen Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh has failed to achieve rate cut goals, and the problem lies with a "hostile" board.

According to a presidential memorandum posted on the White House website and made public on social media on Friday, the committee is composed entirely of executive branch officials, including Trump's chief economic adviser and the administration's most prominent defender of economic policy, Kevin Hassett.

The announcement, dated Wednesday, shows that the other two members are Keith Sonderling, acting director of the Office of Government Ethics, and Andrea Lucas, chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; the document does not mention any external independent third-party arbitrators.

This special move, which has almost no precedent, was immediately criticized by Cook's acting lawyers and key Democratic members of Congress.

The memorandum states that the committee will hold an in-person hearing with Cook at the White House on November 5, two days after the midterm elections end. Committee members may consult with the Department of Justice and personnel from other agencies to assist in the investigation.

Cook's lawyers Abbe Lowell and Norm Eisen expressed deep skepticism about the legality of the investigation process, but also said Cook "is willing to use this opportunity to present the facts and clear her name."

The two lawyers said in a statement: "The president has repeatedly said publicly that regardless of the facts and evidence, he has already made up his mind to remove Governor Cook. Based on this, we seriously doubt whether this 'hearing' is a legally proper process."

"But if this hearing can be basically objective, then the conclusion must be that Governor Cook did not commit mortgage fraud, and therefore there is no legal basis to remove her."

"We have already communicated with the White House to assess whether this proposed process has any chance of conducting a genuine investigation, rather than just going through the motions. Governor Cook is willing to present the facts to prove that there is no legal basis for removing her."

Trump first attempted to remove Cook last year, when administration officials accused her of making false statements in at least one mortgage-related document. Cook firmly denied any wrongdoing and filed a lawsuit to block the removal. A federal district court temporarily halted Trump's removal action, and in June of this year, the Supreme Court upheld the lower court's ruling by a narrow majority.

However, the Supreme Court did not prohibit Trump from trying again to remove Cook. The reason for rejecting the first removal was simply that Cook had not received complete statutory due process at the time, and any new removal action must follow additional procedures.

Under the Federal Reserve Act, the president may remove a Federal Reserve governor only for "cause." In August, White House aide Dan Scavino sent a letter to Cook informing her that Trump was again "considering" removing her based on the mortgage-related allegations.

In the memorandum establishing the investigative committee and addressed to Attorney General Todd Blanche, Trump wrote: "As president, my duty is to ensure the law is faithfully executed, including removing subordinates who are not trustworthy, cannot state the facts truthfully, and do not comply with the law."

The memorandum states: "To assist me in fulfilling that duty, the committee will investigate the allegations against Governor Cook and, based on the interpretation given by Supreme Court precedent, report to me whether there is 'cause' to remove Cook."

The Federal Reserve declined to comment, and a request for comment was directed to Cook's legal team.

Democratic U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts issued a statement Friday morning, accusing Trump of "illegally coveting control of America's central bank and convening this illegitimate kangaroo court-style trial."

Warren, the senior Democratic member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, said: "Trump should not personally serve as the judge of his own private court. He should end the Iran war and cancel the chaotic tariff policies."