00:00U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Benson said on Monday the Federal Reserve is and should be independent
00:05but said it had made a lot of mistakes and defended President Donald Trump's right to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook
00:12over allegations of mortgage fraud.
00:14Trump has criticized the Fed and its Chair Jerome Powell for months for not lowering interest rates
00:19and recently took aim at Powell over a costly renovation of the bank's Washington headquarters.
00:25Independent central banks are widely seen as crucial to a stable global financial system.
00:33Benson said the makeup of the Fed board with the regional bank governors meant for president could not stack the board.
00:39Benson rejected the idea that markets were disturbed by the Trump administration's actions.
00:45Benson said he believed that Cook should be removed or stepped down if the allegations against her are true
00:51and noted that she had not denied them.
00:54Trump last week fired Cook, the first black woman, to serve on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors
01:00after the Trump-appointed head of the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency, William Pulte, accused her of mortgage fraud.
01:08Pulte asked the Justice Department to investigate the claim.
01:12The department has not filed charges against her.
01:15Cook and her supporters contend that the fraud allegations are a pretext to remove her
01:20so that Trump could appoint an ally to the central bank who would promote his policy wishes.
01:27Cook is suing Trump and the Fed, saying Trump did not have the legal authority to remove her.
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