Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee are looking into the Trump administration’s repeated investigations into alleged mortgage fraud of President Donald Trump’s perceived political enemies.
Federal Finance Housing Authority Director Bill Pulte, a staunch Trump ally, directed criminal referrals to the Justice Department for alleged mortgage fraud involving Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA), New York Attorney General Letitia James, and Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook. Ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-MD) asked Pulte to hand over all documents related to his mortgage investigations.
House Democrats don’t have a mechanism to force the investigation forward because they are in the minority. However, liberal organizations have been keen to respond to Pulte and other Republicans’ complaints about Democrats’ mortgages. The Campaign for Accountability asked the DOJ to investigate Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, and others for alleged mortgage fraud.
“Your decision to use the FHFA to selectively — and publicly — investigate and target the President’s designated political enemies gives rise to the unmistakable impression that you have been improperly coordinating with the White House to launch these probes,” Raskin wrote to Pulte.
“It appears that you are using FHFA to conduct deep-sea fishing expeditions of Americans’ personal financial information, apparently with help from Peter Thiel’s data company, Palantir, to deliver artificial intelligence-aided opposition research reports on officials who have held President Trump accountable or potentially stand in the way of his complete takeover of the independent Federal Reserve Board,” Raskin continued.
Pulte has accused Cook, James, and Schiff of claiming a home as their primary residence to get more favorable mortgage terms. All three have denied any wrongdoing.
At the same time, an investigative report from ProPublica found that multiple members of Trump’s Cabinet, including Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Duffy, and Zeldin, also have multiple properties listed as their primary residence on mortgages.
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Raskin additionally accused Pulte of using FHFA resources and “using this massive trove of Americans’ personal data as a weapon with which to exact retribution and pressure on behalf of the President.”
“While it is unclear exactly who ordered these specific records to be pulled, and on what basis, the roster of the individuals you have chosen to target and publicly refer to the DOJ inescapably suggests that your overarching purpose is to punish and smear critics of President Trump,” he wrote.