Rep. Eric Swalwell alleges in new lawsuit that Bill Pulte abused database access to gin up mortgage fraud claims

By Jake Tapper, Jeremy Herb, CNN

(CNN) — Rep. Eric Swalwell on Tuesday filed a civil lawsuit against Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, alleging violations of the Privacy Act and First Amendment over Pulte’s criminal referral of him to the Justice Department for alleged mortgage fraud violations.

In the suit, filed in federal court in Washington, DC, the California Democrat and outspoken critic of President Donald Trump alleged that Pulte abused his position as federal housing chief “by scouring databases at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac” for private mortgage records of prominent Democrats, including Swalwell.

Pulte’s actions represented “a gross abuse of power that violated the law,” Swalwell alleged, by targeting him for prosecution “based solely on his protected political speech and views.”

Swalwell alleged that the referral violated the Privacy Act because the law “explicitly forbids federal agencies from disclosing—or even transmitting to other agencies—sensitive information about any individual for any purpose not explicitly authorized by law.” He asked the court to direct Pulte to withdraw the criminal referral he submitted to DOJ and for damages over alleged violations of the Privacy Act.

“Defendants’ use and disclosure of Representative Swalwell’s mortgage documents flouted those basic prohibitions,” the lawsuit said.

CNN has reached out to Pulte for comment on the lawsuit.

As housing chief, Pulte has referred several of Trump’s perceived enemies for prosecution to DOJ on allegations of mortgage fraud, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. Earlier this month, Pulte referred Swalwell for prosecution over similar allegations that he claimed multiple homes as primary residences in his mortgage documents.

Pulte’s referral led to an indictment against James. But that criminal case was dismissed on Monday by a judge, who found that former White House aide Lindsey Halligan, the prosecutor who brought the charges, was unlawfully appointed. CNN and others reported last week that the Justice Department was investigating whether people impersonated federal agents in the probes of Schiff and James.

Pulte also publicly pushed for the resignation of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and launched the allegations that Trump used to try to fire Cook from the Fed — a move that will be before the Supreme Court in January.

In his lawsuit, Swalwell denied the mortgage fraud allegations, saying that he “explicitly disclaimed any intent to occupy the District of Columbia home as his primary residence in a sworn affidavit attached to his mortgage agreement” and remains a permanent resident of California.

Swalwell wrote in the lawsuit that the allegations against him came to light at the same time that he was preparing to announce his campaign for governor of California.

Swalwell has long been a prominent Trump critic. He served on the House Intelligence Committee investigating Trump and Russia during the president’s first term, and he worked as an impeachment manager during Trump’s 2021 Senate trial after the January 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.

Swalwell sued Trump in 2021, claiming that the president’s speech at the White House Ellipse just before the riot pushed his supporters towards violence. The case is still proceeding in federal court.

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CNN’s Samantha Delouya contributed to this report.