Bill Pulte Asks for Mortgage Fraud Probe Into Eric Swalwell

Another Democrat has been referred to the Department of Justice for a potential federal criminal probe into mortgage fraud.

Rep. Eric Swalwell of the East Bay Area has been accused of mortgage and tax fraud related to a home in Washington, D.C., NBC News reported.

Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, told Attorney General Pam Bondi in a letter Wednesday that Swalwell may have made false or misleading statements in loan documents. The agency’s acting inspector general has also been contacted in relation to the case.

Pulte’s letter calls for an investigation into possible mortgage fraud, insurance fraud and state and local tax fraud, as well as any related crimes. Pulte previously sent criminal referrals to the Justice Department for New York Attorney General Letitia James, Sen. Adam Schiff of California and Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook. All three have denied wrongdoing.

“As the most vocal critic of Donald Trump over the last decade, and as the only person who still has a surviving lawsuit against him, the only thing I am surprised about is that it took him this long to come after me,” Swalwell said in a statement.

“Like James Comey and John Bolton, Adam Schiff and Lisa Cook, Letitia James and the dozens more to come, I refuse to live in fear in what was once the freest country in the world,” Swalwell said. “Of course, I will not end my lawsuit against him. And I will not stop speaking out against the President and speaking up for Californians.”

The petition comes days after news surfaced that multiple Fannie Mae watchdogs who were fired by Pulte had been investigating whether the FHFA head improperly obtained mortgage records of other Democrats, including James. James was indicted last month in a mortgage fraud probe.

Bondi previously appointed a “special attorney” for the investigations against Schiff and James. Pulte, for his part, has no reservations about pursuing politicians who have multiple homes.

“Is it mortgage fraud to say that you live in one area and not another area? Yes, it is mortgage fraud,” Pulte told Bloomberg News over the summer. “We’re not going to be intimidated.”

— Chris Malone Méndez