Watchdog files complaint on Trump officials’ alleged mortgage fraud
A liberal ethics watchdog group, the Campaign for Accountability, has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice alleging potential mortgage fraud by three Cabinet secretaries in President Donald trump’s administration-Transportation Secretary sean Duffy, Labor Secretary lori Chavez-DeRemer, Environmental Protection agency Administrator Lee Zeldin-and texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The complaint calls for a criminal investigation, citing reports that these officials listed multiple homes as their primary residences on mortgage loan documents, which could constitute fraud. This action follows ongoing DOJ probes into similar allegations against Democratic officials, including Senator Adam Schiff, New York attorney General Letitia James, and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. The watchdog highlights a disparity in investigations,claiming only Democrats are currently being scrutinized. The accused republicans have denied wrongdoing, and the White House dismissed the reports as politically motivated attacks.
Liberal watchdog files complaint on Duffy, Paxton, and Zeldin mortgages
A liberal ethics watchdog filed a complaint with the Department of Justice on Monday alleging three of President Donald Trump‘s Cabinet secretaries and a Republican official are engaging in mortgage fraud.
The Campaign for Accountability implored Attorney General Pam Bondi to initiate a criminal investigation into Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for possible mortgage fraud violations.
The group cited Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte’s recent comments on the matter.
“If somebody is claiming two primary residences, that is not appropriate, and we will refer it for criminal investigation,” Pulte said in August.
Trump’s DOJ is investigating whether Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and New York Attorney General Letitia James have committed mortgage fraud by claiming more than one primary residence in loan documents. The department is also probing Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, whom Trump ineffectually fired late last month, for the same reason.
The watchdog said it isn’t fair that Democratic officials are being investigated by the Trump administration while Republican officials aren’t.
“Secretary Chavez-DeRemer, Secretary Duffy, Administrator Zeldin, and Attorney General Paxton appear to have engaged in conduct nearly identical to that for which Mr. Pulte referred Governor Cook and for which the department is now investigating Governor Cook, Senator Schiff, and Attorney General James,” the five-page complaint states.
“All that readily distinguishes those who are under criminal investigation from those who are not is political affiliation: Democratic officials are under investigation while Republican officials are not,” it reads.
Duffy, Chavez-DeRemer, and Zeldin each listed two homes as their primary residences on their loan records, according to recent reporting by ProPublica.
Meanwhile, Paxton and his wife have one home in Dallas and two in Austin listed as their primary residence. They may also have violated the mortgage terms on two other properties, one in Texas and the other a luxury cabin in Oklahoma. The Paxtons are expected to divorce.
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The Campaign for Accountability calls for a DOJ investigation into the four officials to “determine whether any of them have engaged in wire fraud, mail fraud, bank fraud, made false statements to a financial institution, and/or violated any other relevant state and federal laws,” per the complaint.
Duffy, Chavez-DeRemer, and Zeldin all denied wrongdoing, with the White House calling ProPublica’s reporting on them “just another hit piece from a left-wing dark money group that constantly attempts to smear President Trump’s incredible Cabinet members.” Paxton has not publicly responded to reports concerning his allegedly fraudulent mortgage documents.
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