Bill Pulte, the Trump administration’s top housing finance official, has referred a fourth Democrat, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-California), to the Justice Department over allegations of fraud, according to two people familiar with the matter, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe confidential proceedings.
It is unclear what Pulte specifically focused on. The referral was first reported by NBC News.
Bill Pulte, the Trump administration’s top housing finance official, has referred a fourth Democrat, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-California), to the Justice Department over allegations of fraud, according to two people familiar with the matter, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe confidential proceedings.
It is unclear what Pulte specifically focused on. The referral was first reported by NBC News.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency declined to comment. Neither Swalwell nor his office responded to requests for comment.
In a Thursday interview with MSNBC, Swalwell denied any allegations of fraud. He said he only had “one mortgage and a residence in California,” shuttling weekly between Washington and his home state. Swalwell said “no one has been a more vocal critic than me,” citing his ongoing lawsuit against President Donald Trump over the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
“This is really about Donald Trump going after his political enemies,” Swalwell said.
Pulte has referred mortgage fraud accusations to the Justice Department against three other prominent Democrats, all of whom deny any wrongdoing.
Swalwell has long clashed with Trump. In addition to his lawsuit in federal court over Jan. 6, he also called for probes into allegations that Russia interfered with the 2016 election. MSNBC also reported this week that Swalwell has all but decided to run for governor. On air Thursday, Swalwell said there was “no news on running for governor.”
Public mortgage records do not necessarily tell a full story about someone’s financial history or whether they committed any wrongdoing.
Proving someone committed mortgage fraud requires showing that they deliberately lied or omitted information used to fund, purchase or insure a mortgage loan. If a borrower lies about their income or credit history to get a lower interest rate, that would be fraudulent.
Paperwork mistakes, though, would not. Public records also don’t always tell a complete story or show additional agreements between borrowers and lenders.
Public records reviewed by The Washington Post show Swalwell purchased a D.C. property in March 2020 with two mortgages, one for roughly $970,000 and another for $121,500. Two years later, Swalwell refinanced both loans into a single loan with a 30-year, 4.5-percent interest rate from Apple Federal Credit Union. The mortgage included another document saying the rate was adjustable and would change on a set schedule starting in 2029.
In 2023, Swalwell also added a home equity line of credit with a limit of $200,000.
Pulte runs the FHFA, which oversees much of the U.S. mortgage market but has typically been a low-profile part of Washington. Yet Pulte has used the position to forward allegations of widespread mortgage fraud, turning confidential financial documents into sharp political weapons. The tactic poses a particular threat in Washington, where dozens of lawmakers and other political figures report holding mortgages on more than one home as they shuttle between the Capitol and their districts, The Post has reported.
So far, Pulte has zeroed in on prominent Democrats and critics of Trump. In just the past few months, that effort has ensnared New York Attorney General Letitia James, who filed multiple lawsuits against both Trump administrations and against Trump personally. Trump also publicly accused Sen. Adam Schiff (D-California) — who led impeachment proceedings against the president as a House member — of fraud. And in August, Trump tried to fire Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook over similar allegations. All three officials deny wrongdoing.
It is not clear how Pulte or the FHFA narrowed in on Swalwell, James, Schiff or Cook.
In late September, a group of Senate Democrats pressed Pulte for answers on how authorities are investigating the mortgage fraud claims, saying Pulte had “abused” his role for political purposes.
FHFA’s inspector general would typically be the main office probing and detecting fraud against Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, major mortgage firms under FHFA’s control. But Pulte himself has released much of the public information in earlier cases. Pulte also made himself chairman of both companies shortly after being sworn in in March.
Aaron Schaffer, Marianna Sotomayor and Dan Merica contributed to this report.
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