Swalwell suit alleges abuse of power in Trump official’s mortgage probes

In an impassioned rebuttal to allegations that he criminally misrepresented facts in mortgage documents, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin) sued Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte on Tuesday, accusing him of criminal misuse of government databases to falsely target President Trump’s political rivals.

“Pulte abused his position by scanning the databases of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two government-sponsored organizations,” Swalwell’s lawyers wrote in a federal lawsuit filed in Washington, D.C. “He then used these records to fabricate fictitious allegations of mortgage fraud, which he referred to the Department of Justice for prosecution,” Swalwell’s lawyers wrote in a federal lawsuit filed in Washington, D.C.

They said Pulte launched his attack on Swalwell at a particularly inopportune time, just as Swalwell was launching his campaign for governor of California.

Swalwell’s lawyers wrote that Pulte’s attack was “not only a gross misrepresentation of reality” but also a “gross abuse of power that violates the law,” violated Swalwell’s right to free speech to criticize the president without fear of reprisal, and violated the Privacy Act of 1974, which they said prohibits federal officials from “using their access to citizens’ private information as a tool to harm political opponents.”

Pulte, FHFA and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

Pulte has previously defended its work investigating mortgage documents from prominent Democrats, saying no one is above the law. His guidance targeted only Democrats, although he reported that Republicans were taking similar actions on mortgages.

Swalwell’s lawsuit is the latest blow against Pulte’s campaign and is part of growing scrutiny of the campaign’s unprecedented nature and unorthodox methods, according to testimony from a witness; not only from the targets of the investigation, but also from other investigators.

In addition to Swalwell, Pulte also forwarded mortgage fraud allegations against New York Attorney Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) to the Justice Department. Gen. Letitia James and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook have denied any wrongdoing and suggested the allegations amount to little more than political punishment.

James was charged with the crime in Virginia by an inexperienced, loyal federal prosecutor hand-appointed by Trump, but a judge later threw out the case on the grounds that the prosecutor, Lindsey Halligan, had been appointed illegally. The judge also threw out a lawsuit against another Trump rival, former FBI Director James Comey.

Cook’s lawyers criticized Pulte in a letter to the Justice Department, writing, “His decision to use the FHFA to selectively – and publicly – investigate and target the President’s designated political enemies gives rise to the clear impression that he improperly coordinated with the White House to produce flimsy estimates to launch these investigations.”

Schiff also blasted Trump and Pulte for targeting him and other Democrats and welcomed the filing of the lawsuits against James and Comey, calling it “a victory for the rule of law.”

In recent days, federal prosecutors in Maryland, where the Schiff case is being investigated, have also begun asking questions about the actions of Pulte and other Trump officials, according to Christine Bish, a Sacramento-area real estate agent and Republican congressional candidate who was summoned to Maryland last week to answer questions on the matter.

Pulte alleged that Schiff broke the law by claiming primary residence for mortgages in both Maryland and California. Schiff said he violated no laws and has always been upfront with mortgage lenders.

Bish has been investigating Schiff’s mortgage records since 2020 and has repeatedly submitted documents about Schiff to the federal government — first to the Office of Congressional Ethics, then to the FHFA tip line and the FBI earlier this year, he told The Times.

When Trump later posted one of Schiff’s mortgage documents on the Truth Social platform, Bish said he believed he had submitted it to the FHFA and the FBI because it was highlighted exactly as he had highlighted it. He later found himself missing a call from Pulte and was later asked by Pulte staff to email Pulte the “entire dossier” he had prepared on Schiff.

“They wanted to make sure I sent the entire file,” Bish said.

Bish said he was later interviewed via Google Meet on Oct. 22 by someone from the FHFA inspector general’s office and an FBI agent. He later received a subpoena in the mail, which he interpreted as requiring him to be in Maryland last week. There, he said he was interviewed again for about an hour by the same official from the inspector general’s office and another FBI agent, and said he was surprised that their questions seemed to focus more on his communications with people in the federal government than on Schiff.

“They wanted to know if I was talking to anyone else,” he said. “You know, what did I communicate with? Who did I communicate with?”

Schiff’s office declined to comment. But Schiff’s lawyer had previously told Justice Department officials there was “sufficient basis” to launch an investigation into Pulte and Trump’s campaign targeting his rivals, calling it a “highly unregulated” and “disgusting” effort.

The subsequent dismissal of Joe Allen, who was FHFA acting inspector general when Bish was first contacted, also raised questions.

On November 19, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach) – the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. wrote a letter to Pulte, denouncing that its investigations were politically motivated, questioning Allen’s dismissal, and demanding documents from Pulte, including all of his communications with the White House.

Swalwell’s attorneys wrote in Tuesday’s lawsuit that he did not claim primary residence in both California and Washington, D.C., as alleged, and did not violate any laws.

They accused Pulte of orchestrating a coordinated effort to spread allegations against Swalwell through a wide network of conservative influencers, saying it was “damaging.” [Swalwell’s] His reputation was at a critical point in his career: at the moment when he planned to announce his campaign for Governor of California.”

They said the “widespread publication of information regarding the home where his wife and young children reside” exposed him to “high security risks and caused significant pain and distress”.

Swalwell said in a statement that Pulte “silences political opponents by scanning their private records” and that this should not be allowed.

“There is a reason why the First Amendment – ​​free speech – comes before all others,” he said.