Representative Eric Swalwell sues Bill Pulte, head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, alleging abuse of power to “make up bizarre mortgage fraud charges” against Swalwell, a prominent critic of President Donald Trump.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, says It is “patently false” that Swalwell, California, stated that the Washington, D.C. house is his primary residence, and that Swalwell “expressly disclaimed any intention to occupy the D.C. house as his primary residence in the affidavit attached to his mortgage deed.” The affidavit “makes it clear that this home will be his wife's primary residence and not his own” and Swalwell “has been and remains a permanent resident of California,” the suit says.
The suit accuses Pulte of targeting Swalwell for his constitutionally protected political speech, violating the First Amendment's “fundamental prohibition on viewpoint-based retaliation.” It also says Pulte's appeal violates the Privacy Act of 1974, which was passed “following President Nixon's campaign against his political enemies.”
The suit notes that Pulte has opposed Trump's political opponents, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Federal Reserve board member Lisa Cook, and it says there have been no known lawsuits against anyone who supports Trump.
The case against James was dismissed on Monday. after a federal judge found that Lindsey Halligan, who filed the indictment against James and was serving as interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, was not legally appointed to her position.
Schiff and Cook have not been charged.
Cook sued and The Supreme Court allowed her to remain in office as he prepares to hear oral arguments in January. The investigation into Schiff has stalled. sources told NBC News last monthdue to the lack of sufficient evidence to bring charges.
NBC News first reported this month about a letter Pulte sent to the Justice Department regarding Swalwell's mortgage. Swalwell's lawsuit says the leak of Pulte's letter of recommendation to the media “occurred with astonishing speed.”
A spokesman for Pulte did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. A Justice Department spokesman also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Pulte defended his recommendations in connection with the mortgage fraud allegations, saying that during an interview with CNBC in August after asking Cook: “It doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the Fed governor. It has everything to do with mortgage fraud in the United States, and if we see it, we're going to do something about it.”
In his lawsuit, Swalwell alleged that shortly after NBC News published a story about his criminal prosecution, “prominent conservative commentators and sources” published “specific details of the case,” such as the value of his home. The lawsuit states that “the coordinated nature of these disclosures is further demonstrated by the fact that they appeared online before the Department of Justice received any written direction from Pulte.”
The disclosure, Swalwell said, “damaged plaintiff's reputation at a critical point in his career: just as he was planning to announce his campaign for governor of California.” He added that “the widespread publication of information about the home where his wife and young children live exposed him to an increased security risk and caused him significant distress and suffering.”
Zoe Richards contributed.
