U.S. Representative Eric Swalwell, a Democrat from California, is fighting against what he says is political targeting. He has filed a federal lawsuit against Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). Swalwell is asking the court to stop a criminal referral Pulte sent to the Department of Justice (DOJ). This referral accused Swalwell of mortgage fraud. The lawsuit not only challenges the fraud claims but also says a federal official may have misused private financial information for political reasons.
The Allegations: Misuse of Private Mortgage Records
Swalwell’s complaint says that Pulte wrongly looked at and used his private mortgage records. These records are kept by government-run groups, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Swalwell’s lawyers say that Pulte, who worked under the Trump administration, used his access to these records to make up claims of mortgage fraud and send them to the DOJ. The lawsuit says this breaks the Privacy Act of 1974, a law that protects people from unfair collection and use of personal information by federal agencies. Swalwell claims Pulte turned access to private information into a “tool” to hurt political opponents, which is an abuse of power.
Swalwell’s Defense and Counter-Arguments
Swalwell strongly denies doing anything wrong. He calls the fraud claims “completely false.” The referral says Swalwell lied about a Washington, D.C., house being his main home to get better loan terms.
Swalwell says the D.C. house was never his main home. He says he lives in California permanently. His mortgage application had a sworn statement showing that the D.C. home was his wife’s main residence. The lawsuit says Pulte got the facts wrong and used government power wrongly. Swalwell also says the referral breaks his First Amendment rights because it is political revenge meant to punish him for criticizing the former president.
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Broader Political Context and Related Investigations
This lawsuit is important because it is the first challenge to a criminal referral by Pulte. Pulte has made four criminal referrals against top Democrats this year, all about mortgage issues.
Other Democrats targeted include Senator Adam Schiff and Federal Reserve Board member Lisa Cook, who also denied any wrongdoing. Another case involved New York Attorney General Letitia James, where mortgage fraud charges were dropped because the U.S. attorney who filed the case was not properly appointed. These events support Swalwell’s claim that Pulte may be using federal agencies to attack political opponents.
The Court’s Requested Intervention
Swalwell wants the court to order FHFA and Bill Pulte to take back the criminal referral against him. He says the referral is based on misusing private mortgage data and getting the facts wrong. The lawsuit does not only fight his own case but also challenges the bigger problem of a federal official using private records to target political rivals.
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