The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has launched an investigation into Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte over concerns he may have abused his position and government resources to target political opponents of President Donald Trump with criminal accusations.
The probe, confirmed this week by the GAO—Congress’s independent investigative arm—and reported by Reuters follows a Nov. 17 letter from eight Democratic senators, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, ranking member committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.
The senators called for an urgent explanation of whether Pulte’s criminal referrals to the Justice Department were politically motivated or constituted a misuse of government resources.
“Despite repeatedly claiming his investigations are nonpartisan, Mr. Pulte’s public accusations appear to have solely targeted prominent Democrats and public officials, including those President Trump has publicly threatened with political and criminal retribution,” reads the letter.
The FHFA was contacted for a statement for RISMedia, but did not immediately respond.
Pulte’s housing agency role
The investigation takes on particular significance given Pulte’s role as head of the FHFA, the regulatory agency responsible for overseeing elements of the mortgage market, including the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
In their detailed letter to GAO Comptroller General Gene Dodaro, the senators outlined concerns that the FHFA director has made criminal referrals against New York Attorney General Letitia James, U.S. Senator Adam Schiff, Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook and Congressman Eric Swalwell.
“Public reports suggest the process through which Mr. Pulte has done so is ‘bizarre,’ ‘unusual,’ and ‘unheard of,’” the senators wrote. “It is unclear why Pulte made these claims, how he accessed the information as Director to make such claims, and whether and how official FHFA resources—staff time, government communications systems, or privileged data—were used to do so.”
Separately, multiple media outlets reported the Department of Justice (DOJ) is scrutinizing how Pulte handled an investigation into Schiff, with a real estate agent (and federal congressional candidate) seemingly a key witness.
GAO investigation scope
The senators have requested that the GAO investigate four specific areas:
- An overview of the existing laws, regulations, processes, procedures and norms that govern mortgage fraud investigations that originate at FHFA, including the process for criminally referring individuals to the Department of Justice.
- An overview of the existing laws, regulations, processes, procedures and norms that govern the disclosure of personal financial records and information by FHFA.
- A detailed review of what changes, if any, Director Pulte, and other relevant FHFA officials, have made to the FHFA’s standard processes, procedures and norms governing mortgage fraud investigations at the agency since Mr. Pulte was confirmed as FHFA Director.
- A detailed review of the controls in place at FHFA and FHFA OIG to ensure that applicable policies and standards are followed in connection with the identification, investigation and referral of cases of alleged mortgage fraud.
