President Trump is once again attempting to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, because apparently the Supreme Court's rejection last month was just a suggestion. The renewed push comes with fresh allegations of mortgage fraud - allegations that remain, in the words of Cook's lawyer, "baseless" and, in the words of reality, unproven.

Deputy White House Chief of Staff Daniel Scavino fired off a letter this week demanding Cook respond to charges that she made false statements on mortgage applications. These charges were originally floated by Trump ally William Pulte, who oversees mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac - because who better to question someone's financial integrity than a guy with enormous power over the mortgage industry?

Scavino's letter offers a remarkably generous interpretation of the allegations: "Even if your conduct does not rise to the level of felony offense, it appears to demonstrate a level of gross negligence in financial transactions that calls into question your competence and trustworthiness as a financial regulator." In other words, even if you didn't commit a crime, we'll just claim you were grossly negligent. Solid legal reasoning.

Cook's attorney, Abbe Lowell, was not amused: "These allegations are as baseless now as they were a year ago when President Trump tried to remove Governor Cook and interfere with the independence of the Federal Reserve. There is no valid cause for removing Governor Cook. As we did before, we will challenge this latest pretext and preserve her position and the historic role of the Fed." Lowell's statement was first reported by ABC News, which apparently had nothing better to do.

This is the second act of a saga that began when Trump, frustrated that the Fed wasn't cutting interest rates fast enough for his liking, also threatened to fire then-Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Powell's term as chair expired in May, though he remains on the board, presumably bracing for similar treatment.

In June, the Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 that the Federal Reserve holds a special place in the U.S. government, and that presidents can only remove Fed governors for cause. Now, lower courts will decide whether Cook's alleged mortgage missteps meet that standard - a process that could take months, during which Cook will continue to do her job, because that's how this works.