Congressional Watchdog Investigating Bill Pulte

Bill Pulte’s largely unsuccessful spree of mortgage fraud referrals is now the subject of an investigation by a nonpartisan congressional watchdog agency.

The Government Accountability Office, revealed it opened an investigation into the Federal Housing Finance Agency director last week in response to a letter from top Senate Democrats, NBC News reported. Pulte, 37, has a development background and has made waves in the industry by weaponizing a typically unheralded position against the president’s enemies.

The letter stemmed from the mortgage fraud referrals made against a number of public officials, all of whom could be viewed as adversaries of the Trump administration. Those names include New York Attorney General Letitia James, Sen. Adam Schiff, Rep. Eric Swalwell and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.

A judge tossed the criminal case against James because of the Justice Department’s illegal appointment of Lindsey Halligan as prosecutor in the case; a federal grand jury declined to reindict her last week. None of the other three have been indicted and they all deny wrongdoing, though Cook’s case is also the basis of her attempted removal, set to be heard by the Supreme Court next month.

A spokesperson for GAO said the investigation is in its early stages and could take months to get going in earnest. Pulte’s agency, meanwhile, declined to comment on the GAO’s probe.

A critical question in Pulte’s fraud referrals has been the way he’s obtained the documents that served as the basis for the referrals. Several months ago, Pulte claimed to have received a “tip” without elaborating.

The mortgage fraud crusade rose to such a level that Fannie Mae’s ethics and investigation units pursued a probe of their own over whether Pulte improperly acquired the mortgage records of several officials. The investigations followed internal complaints alleging senior officials improperly asked workers to access the mortgage documents in question.

The probe was elevated to the Office of Inspector General for the FHFA. The acting inspector general gave the report to the U.S. attorney’s office in eastern Virginia, in part because it could be material to James’ defense.

Subsequently, dozens of ethics and investigative staffers at Fannie were fired or pressured to step down. Pulte claimed the effort to root out diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives was responsible for the layoffs, but he was also reportedly frustrated with investigations within the organization.

— Holden Walter-Warner