Democratic congressman’s lawsuit claims Trump housing official abused post to target Trump critics

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal lawsuit filed Tuesday by U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell accuses the Trump administration’s top housing regulator of abusing his position to misuse private mortgage records belonging to Swalwell and other Democratic critics of the Republican president.

Swalwell sued Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte less than two weeks after Pulte formally referred the California Democrat to the Justice Department for possible criminal prosecution on mortgage fraud charges.

Swalwell is seeking a court order for Pulte and his agency to withdraw the criminal referral. His lawsuit, which also seeks unspecified monetary damages, accuses Pulte of violating federal laws and Swalwell’s First Amendment free speech rights.

Pulte didn’t immediately respond to a text message and telephone call seeking comment on the lawsuit.

Swalwell, who is running for governor of California, served as a House manager in President Donald Trump’s 2021 impeachment trial. His lawsuit claims Pulte has played “an integral role in supporting President Trump’s campaign of retribution against his political foes.”

“Those efforts have resulted in the Department of Justice conducting a series of high-profile criminal investigations and prosecutions nakedly targeting some of the President’s most outspoken critics,” the suit says.

Pulte’s Nov. 13 referral to the Justice Department alleges that Swalwell falsely claimed his Washington, D.C., home as his primary residence on a mortgage agreement to secure better loan terms. Swalwell denies that allegation, saying he submitted a sworn affidavit that the D.C. home would be his wife’s primary residence but not his own.

A push by Pulte and Justice Department official Ed Martin to investigate Trump political foes for mortgage fraud has been plagued by missteps, including overhyped allegations that were easily refuted. Ethics officials at the agency Pulte leads were investigating whether he and his allies had improperly accessed mortgage data.

Pulte, who appointed himself chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, has alarmed the housing industry by purging ethics officials and top leaders of the two government-sponsored lending giants.

“Pulte’s brazen practice of obtaining confidential mortgage records from Fannie Mae and/or Freddie Mac and then using them as a basis for referring individual homeowners to DOJ for prosecution is unprecedented and unlawful,” Swalwell’s lawsuit says.

In August, the Justice Department named Martin as a special prosecutor to help conduct mortgage fraud investigations of other prominent Democrats, including U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Martin also serves as director of the Justice Department’s “weaponization working group,” which is examining Trump’s claims of anti-conservative bias inside the department.

A federal judge on Monday dismissed the separate criminal cases against James and former FBI Director James Comey, concluding that the prosecutor who brought the charges at Trump’s urging was illegally appointed.