HYPOCRITICAL

Fox Star Slams MAGA Pol for Trumpy Double Standard

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has been accused of listing several homes as his primary residence to secure better mortgage rates.

Fox News Chief Political Analyst Brit Hume called out Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for allegedly lying on a mortgage application to secure better rates—the same infraction President Donald Trump has accused Fed Governor Lisa Cook of.

Trump ally Paxton and his now-estranged wife, Texas state Sen. Angela Paxton, allegedly signed off on mortgage documents listing their three homes as their primary residence to secure better rates, according to a July 24 report from the Associated Press.

“This is the same thing Fed Governor Lisa Cook did,” Hume wrote on X Thursday, including a link to the AP report. “It will be interesting to see how those saying she deserved to be fired react to this news.”

Scandal-prone Paxton was impeached by the Texas House of Representatives in 2023 for bribery, abuse of public trust, and retaliation against whistleblowers, then acquitted by the state Senate. He has been in the news again after his wife filed for divorce in July on “biblical grounds” over an affair, which he has admitted to. Paxton is running to unseat Sen. John Cornyn next year.

Paxton has not commented on the allegations of mortgage fraud. The Daily Beast has reached out for comment.

On Monday, Trump posted his dismissal letter to Cook on Truth Social, saying she claimed a primary residence in both Michigan and Georgia to secure better rates on a mortgage.

MORTGAGE STRESS

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“You signed one document attesting that a property in Michigan would be your primary residence for the next year. Two weeks later, you signed another document for a property in Georgia stating that it would be your primary residence for the next year,” Trump wrote. “It is inconceivable that you were not aware of your first commitment when making the second. It is impossible that you intended to honor both.”

It is not clear whether the termination will hold up in court. Members of the Fed, which is independent from the Executive Branch, can only be fired “for cause,” typically for professional misconduct rather than policy disagreements.

Cook filed a lawsuit on Thursday, saying her removal would “subvert” the federal bank’s mandated protections and independence. She also accused Trump of violating her due process rights by announcing her termination before giving her any chance to respond, according to The New York Times.

FIGHTING BACK

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Trump’s move to oust Cook is the latest step in his months-long crusade against the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates.

On July 15, the president floated the idea of firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who had held interest rates steady despite pressure from the president, to a group of Republican lawmakers, according to a senior White House official.

Trump has appointed two of the seven members of the Fed board and selected one of his top economic advisors, Stephen Miran, to become the third. Trump administration officials say they hope to confirm Miran before the Federal Open Market Committee meeting in September.

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Ethan CotlerBreaking News Intern

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