Congressional watchdog probes Trump FHFA chief Bill Pulte

The Government Accountability Office said Thursday that it has opened an investigation into Federal Housing Finance Authority Director Bill Pulte, who has served as an attack dog against President Donald Trump’s enemies.

The congressional watchdog’s probe was requested by a group of Senate Democrats, who had asked the GAO to determine whether Pulte and other FHFA employees “misused federal authority and resources” in pursuing information about targets of Trump.

“Specifically, we request an investigation into Director Pulte’s recent referrals of New York Attorney General Letitia James, U.S. Senator Adam Schiff, Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, and Congressman Eric Swalwell to the U.S. Department of Justice for mortgage fraud,” the Democrats wrote the GAO on Nov. 17.

“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,” the Democrats wrote.

A GAO spokesman told CNBC on Thursday, “I can confirm that GAO has accepted this request following our standard process.”

“The first thing GAO does as any work begins is to determine the full scope of what we will cover and the methodology to be used,” the spokesperson said. “This can take a few months, and until that is done, we cannot provide any estimates on a completion date.”

Swalwell, D-Calif., last week sued Pulte, accusing the FHFA chief of abusing his authority to make “fanciful” allegations of mortgage fraud.

Swalwell’s lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., alleges that Pulte improperly accessed and leaked the congressman’s private mortgage records in retaliation for his political speech.

“Director Pulte has combed through private records of political opponents to silence them,” Swalwell said in a statement last week.

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