The Government Accountability Office opened an investigation this week into Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, related to his agency’s criminal referrals of mortgage fraud allegations against President Donald Trump‘s political opponents to the Department of Justice.
The independent, nonpartisan watchdog agreed to launch the inquiry in a Monday letter to eight Democratic senators who requested it, the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee announced Thursday. However, it may take a few months before the investigation gets underway.
“GAO accepts your request as work that is within the scope of its authority,” the watchdog wrote in response. “At the current time, we anticipate that staff with the required skills will be available to initiate an engagement in about four months.”
In the letter, the GAO said it will “review matters relating to recent actions undertaken at the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), to determine whether the agency and its employees misused federal authority and resources.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), ranking member of the Senate committee, in a previous letter questioned Pulte’s process in referring New York Attorney General Letitia James, Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA), Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, and Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) to the DOJ for alleged mortgage fraud.
Warren led the Nov. 17 request, also signed by Sens. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jack Reed (D-RI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).
In September, several Senate Democrats asked the FHFA to release records related to Pulte’s mortgage fraud investigations. The committee noted that the agency failed to respond at the time, which is why the panel asked the GAO to lead an investigation.
“Instead of bringing down sky-high housing costs, Bill Pulte is weaponizing his role to take on Trump’s perceived political enemies,” Warren said in a statement. “He must be held accountable for this abuse of power.”
The targets of the mortgage fraud investigations have frequently criticized and challenged the Trump administration for enacting political retribution on them. For instance, Swalwell sued Pulte and FHFA two days before Thanksgiving last week over the matter.
Pulte’s investigation into James recently faced a major setback when the case was dismissed late last month by a federal judge, who determined Trump’s choice for interim U.S. attorney in Virginia, Lindsey Halligan, was unlawfully appointed to the position. The DOJ is reportedly seeking a new indictment against James, as the statute of limitations has not expired for her mortgage fraud case.
SWALWELL SUES BILL PULTE OVER PRIVACY VIOLATIONS IN DOJ MORTGAGE FRAUD REFERRAL
Additionally, Pulte is facing scrutiny from a federal grand jury that is reportedly looking into his investigation into Schiff.
It remains unclear how long the GAO investigation will take, considering the agency must first determine the full scope of the investigation. On its website, the office says the process for designing an audit method could take up to three months.