U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., has sued Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte, claiming that privacy laws and his First Amendment rights were violated when Pulte criminally referred him to the Department of Justice for alleged mortgage fraud.
The civil complaint maintains the allegations in Pulte’s DOJ referral are “patently false,” alleging that the FHFA director’s actions were part of a pattern of politically motivated moves that used “government machinery to chill and silence the government’s critics.”
Pulte formally referred Swalwell to the DOJ on Nov. 13, according to the complaint, alleging that Swalwell falsely claimed a home in Washington, D.C., as his primary residence to potentially secure more favorable mortgage terms. Swalwell, a resident of California, claims that an affidavit attached to the mortgage agreement indicated the home would be his wife’s primary residence.
Besides Pulte, the lawsuit names the FHFA and its regulated entities Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as defendants, none of whom immediately responded to Scotsman Guide’s requests for comment.
In addition to serving as director of the FHFA, which oversees Fannie and Freddie through a federal conservatorship arrangement, Pulte is also chairman of the companies’ respective boards.
Swalwell has been a vocal opponent of President Donald Trump. He served as manager during the president’s second impeachment trial and filed suit against Trump for his alleged role in inciting the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
The complaint claims that the mortgage fraud referral “breached the First Amendment’s bedrock prohibition on viewpoint-based retaliation” by targeting Swalwell based on his political speech and views.
It also claims the referral violates the Privacy Act of 1974, alleging that Pulte “abused his position by scouring databases at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — two government-sponsored enterprises — for the private mortgage records of several prominent Democrats,” including Swalwell.
The other “prominent Democrats” referenced in the legal filing are New York Attorney General Letitia James and Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. Each was referred to the DOJ by Pulte for similar mortgage fraud allegations.
Schiff has not been indicted, but James was indicted by a grand jury in October. On Monday, a federal judge dismissed the case against James, ruling that the appointment of Trump’s former personal attorney, Lindsey Halligan, as interim U.S. attorney to pursue the indictment was “invalid.”
Pulte has also leveled similar mortgage fraud claims against Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, which formed the basis of Trump’s attempt to fire her from her central bank position in August. She denied the allegations and sued to keep her job. The case has since been escalated to the Supreme Court, which is set to hear oral arguments in January.
The Swalwell complaint frames those high-profile investigations and prosecutions as “nakedly targeting some of the President’s most outspoken critics.”
The complaint alleges that Pulte, in his role as FHFA director, authorized the acquisition of confidential mortgage records from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. That “brazen practice” triggered an internal complaint within Fannie Mae, according to the lawsuit, which led to FHFA Acting Inspector General John “Joe” Allen disclosing the complaint to federal prosecutors in the James case.
Allen was subsequently ousted from his role as acting head of the FHFA Office of Inspector General in early November.
Swalwell’s attorneys are requesting injunctive relief from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to withdraw the criminal referral of Swalwell. They are also seeking statutory and compensatory damages, as well as declaratory relief that privacy laws and the plaintiff’s First Amendment rights were violated.
