The Government Accountability Office announced 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 investigation was requested by a group of Senate Democrats who had asked the GAO to determine whether Pulte and other FHFA employees “abused federal authority and resources” to pursue information about Trump targets.
“Specifically, we call for an investigation into Director Pulte’s recent referrals to 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 to the GAO on November 17.
“Although Mr. Pulte has repeatedly claimed that his investigations are impartial, his public allegations appear to have been directed exclusively at prominent Democrats and public officials, including those whom President Trump has publicly threatened with political and criminal retaliation,” the Democrats wrote.
The letter asked GAO for “an overview” of how the FHFA conducts mortgage fraud investigations, the existing rules governing the agency’s disclosure of personal financial records and information, and a review of what “if any” changes Pulte has made to the process for investigating mortgage fraud.
A GAO spokesperson told CNBC on Thursday: “I can confirm that GAO has accepted this request in accordance with our standard operating procedures.”
“The first thing GAO does at the beginning of any work is to determine the full scope of what we will cover and the methodology to be used,” the spokesman said. “This may take a few months and until then we cannot provide any estimates on the completion date.”
William Pulte, director of U.S. President Donald Trump's nominee for the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), during a confirmation hearing of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee in Washington, DC, USA, on Thursday, February 27, 2025.
Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Swalwell, D-Calif., sued Pulte last week, 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 unlawfully accessed and disclosed the congressman's private mortgage records in retaliation for his political speech.
“Director Pulte has combed through private records of political opponents in an attempt to silence them,” Swalwell said in a statement last week.
An FHFA spokesman declined to comment on the investigation.