{"id":2517632,"date":"2025-12-04T17:25:02","date_gmt":"2025-12-04T22:25:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pulte-under-watchdog-investigation-for-mortgage-fraud-referrals\/"},"modified":"2025-12-04T17:27:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T22:27:00","slug":"pulte-under-watchdog-investigation-for-mortgage-fraud-referrals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pulte-under-watchdog-investigation-for-mortgage-fraud-referrals\/","title":{"rendered":"Pulte under watchdog investigation for mortgage fraud referrals"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fpulte-under-watchdog-investigation-for-mortgage-fraud-referrals%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2517632&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has launched an investigation into Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing finance Agency (FHFA), regarding his agency&#8217;s referrals of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-says-he-just-learned-that-adam-schiff-engaged-in-very-serious-crimes\/\" title=\"Trump Says He Just Learned That ... Engaged in &#039;Very Serious Crimes&#039;\">mortgage fraud allegations<\/a> against political opponents of former President Donald Trump too the Department of Justice (DOJ). This inquiry follows a request from eight Senate Democrats, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who accused Pulte of misusing federal authority and resources by targeting figures such as New York Attorney General Letitia James, Sen. Adam Schiff, Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, and Rep. Eric Swalwell.The investigation aims to determine whether Pulte abused his power by weaponizing mortgage fraud probes against Trump&#8217;s perceived political enemies. Pulte is also facing a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/missouri-man-charged-with-threatening-to-murder-2-us-congressmen\/\" title=\"Missouri Man Charged With Threatening to Murder 2 US Congressmen\">federal grand jury<\/a> probe related to his investigation of Schiff. Some cases tied to these investigations, like that involving Letitia James, have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/more-americans-now-say-trans-athletes-should-compete-on-team-of-biological-sex-gallup-poll\/\" title=\"Gallup Poll: More Americans support trans athletes competing on teams based on biological sex.\">faced legal setbacks<\/a>, including dismissal due to procedural issues. The GAO&#8217;s review process may take several months to develop and complete.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Pulte under watchdog investigation for mortgage fraud referrals<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2401704\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/government-accountability-office\/\">Government Accountability Office<\/a> opened an investigation this week into Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, related to his agency&rsquo;s criminal referrals of mortgage fraud allegations against President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump<\/a>&lsquo;s political opponents to the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/department-of-justice\/\">Department of Justice<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The independent, nonpartisan watchdog agreed to launch the inquiry in a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.banking.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/GAO%20FHFA%20investigation%20request%20redacted.pdf\">Monday letter<\/a> to eight Democratic senators who requested it, the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee announced Thursday. However, it may take a few months before the investigation gets underway.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3907599\/trump-touts-peace-deal-congo-rwanda\/\">Trump touts Congo-Rwanda peace deal in push to end yearslong conflict<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3907633\/watch-live-president-first-lady-tree-lighting-ceremony\/\">WATCH LIVE: President and first lady hold tree lighting ceremony<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3906805\/melania-trump-announces-return-seven-ukrainian-children\/\">Melania Trump announces return of seven Ukrainian children<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;GAO accepts your request as work that is within the scope of its authority,&rdquo; the watchdog wrote in response. &ldquo;At the current time, we anticipate that staff with the required skills will be available to initiate an engagement in about four months.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In the letter, the GAO said it will &ldquo;review matters relating to recent actions undertaken at the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), to determine whether the agency and its employees misused federal authority and resources.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/elizabeth-warren\/\">Elizabeth Warren<\/a> (D-MA), ranking member of the Senate committee, in a previous letter questioned Pulte&rsquo;s process in referring New York Attorney General <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/letitia-james\/\">Letitia James<\/a>, Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/adam-schiff\/\">Adam Schiff<\/a> (D-CA), Federal Reserve governor <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/lisa-cook\/\">Lisa Cook<\/a>, and Rep. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/eric-swalwell\/\">Eric Swalwell<\/a> (D-CA) to the DOJ for alleged mortgage fraud.<\/p>\n<p>Warren led the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.banking.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/2025.11.17%20Letter%20to%20GAO%20re%20FHFA%20Mortgage%20Fraud%20Investigations.pdf\">Nov. 17 request<\/a>, also signed by Sens. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jack Reed (D-RI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).<\/p>\n<p>In September, several Senate Democrats <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.banking.senate.gov\/newsroom\/minority\/warren-leading-senate-democrats-request-records-from-fhfa-director-pulte-on-potential-abuses-of-power-against-president-trumps-political-opponents\">asked the FHFA<\/a> to release records related to Pulte&rsquo;s mortgage fraud investigations. The committee noted that the agency failed to respond at the time, which is why the panel asked the GAO to lead an investigation.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Instead of bringing down <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >sky-high housing costs<\/a>, Bill Pulte is weaponizing his role to take on Trump&rsquo;s perceived political enemies,&rdquo; Warren <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.banking.senate.gov\/newsroom\/minority\/following-warren-and-senate-democrats-urging-independent-watchdog-launches-investigation-into-fhfa-director-pultes-potential-abuses-of-power-in-mortgage-fraud-cases-against-democratic-officials\">said in a statement<\/a>. &ldquo;He must be held accountable for this abuse of power.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The targets of the mortgage fraud investigations have frequently criticized and challenged the Trump administration for enacting political retribution on them. For instance, Swalwell sued Pulte and FHFA two days before Thanksgiving last week over the matter.<\/p>\n<p>Pulte&rsquo;s investigation into James recently faced a major setback when the case was <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3897002\/james-comey-letitia-james-indictments-tossed-lindsey-halligan\/\">dismissed late last month<\/a> by a federal judge, who determined Trump&rsquo;s choice for interim U.S. attorney in Virginia, Lindsey Halligan, was unlawfully appointed to the position. The DOJ is <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3904554\/doj-weighing-new-indictments-for-comey-james\/\">reportedly seeking<\/a> a new indictment against James, as the statute of limitations has not expired for her mortgage fraud case.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3899724\/swalwell-bill-pulte-lawsuit-privacy-violations-doj-mortgage-fraud-referral\/\">SWALWELL SUES BILL PULTE OVER PRIVACY VIOLATIONS IN DOJ MORTGAGE FRAUD REFERRAL<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Additionally, Pulte is facing scrutiny from a federal grand jury that is <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/justice-department\/federal-grand-jury-investigating-handling-adam-schiff-criminal-probe-rcna244997\">reportedly looking into<\/a> his investigation into Schiff.<\/p>\n<p>It remains unclear how long the GAO investigation will take, considering the agency must first determine the full scope of the investigation. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gao.gov\/about\/what-gao-does\/reports-testimonies\">On its website<\/a>, the office says the process for designing an audit method could take up to three months.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pulte faces GAO probe over mortgage fraud referrals<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2159,"featured_media":2517633,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AP25317829080129.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[53529,61596,68247],"class_list":["post-2517632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-mortgage-fraud","tag-pulte","tag-watchdog-investigation"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AP25317829080129.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2517632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2159"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2517632"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2517632\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2517636,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2517632\/revisions\/2517636"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2517633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2517632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2517632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2517632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}