Bill Pulte Said He Was Cracking Down on Fraud. Now He’s Firing the Investigators.

Por Dan Friedman and Hannah Levintova — Mother Jones Magazine

Bill Pulte, the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, said last year that the agency, which oversees federal mortgage regulators Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, had launched a “wide crackdown on mortgage fraud.”

That was never a persuasive claim. Pulte announced his campaign after drawing criticism for urging the Justice Department to prosecute officials including Federal Reserve Board of Governors member Lisa Cook, New York Attorney Letitia James and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), over alleged inaccuracies in past mortgage applications. His targets were almost all Democrats—or, in Cook’s case, a Democratic appointee—who President Donald Trump had previously clashed with.

But Pulte’s supposed crackdown on mortgage fraud looks a lot less plausible now. On Wednesday, he announced deep cuts to the office of the Inspector General at the FHFA. That office is reportedly investigating Pulte’s own alleged misconduct. But it also includes dozens of special agents who work to “detect, investigate, and refer for prosecution mortgage fraud and other crimes” involving Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, FHFA Acting Principal Deputy Inspector General James Hodge told congressional oversight committee members in a letter Wednesday.

Pulte’s cuts “will eliminate our capacity to effectively conduct criminal investigation of mortgage, bank, and other fraud schemes involving the entities FHFA regulates,” Hodge wrote. He said he would have to lay off about 40 investigators who have helped the office secure more than 1,200 criminal convictions and recover nearly $75 billion since.

In a press release Thursday, Pulte explained slashing the IG’s budget by arguing that it was relatively more expensive than comparable inspector general offices at other federal agencies as a percentage of overall agency spending. 

The announcement did not mention Pulte’s purported crackdown on mortgage fraud, or how firing investigators would affect that effort. The agency’s press office did not respond Thursday to questions on the subject.

Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee demanded on Thursday that Pulte reverse the move, writing to him that the cuts would “make it impossible” for the Inspector General’s office to oversee the agency and the US mortgage market.

“Your decision is unacceptable and yet another example of this Administration’s willingness to flout the law and evade accountability. It also indicates that FHFA is uninterested in finding and eliminating mortgage fraud—an issue that you have repeatedly claimed to prioritize at FHFA,” the lawmakers wrote.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and other top Democrats said Thursday that Pulte “should resign, and if he does not, Congress must hold him accountable.”

Pulte’s efforts to target Trump foes for alleged mortgage fraud has largely failed. Federal prosecutors, at his urging, did indict James, the New York Attorney General who in 2024 won a civil case requiring Trump’s companies to pay back more than $450 million in wrongly obtained funds and interest. A judge later threw out the case against James after ruling the appointment of the Trump aide who brought the case was illegal.

Pulte reportedly targeted one Republican, Attorney General Todd Blanche. But according to the Wall Street Journal, Pulte looked into Blanche’s mortgages after the former Trump lawyer, at the time the deputy attorney general, criticized Pulte’s efforts targeting Democrats.

Pulte’s efforts to use his office to advance partisan vendettas have never been subtle. The Government Accountability Office has said it is investigating whether Pulte misused his position to access mortgage information on Trump foes.

But as Pulte moves to fire the federal employees who look into actual mortgage fraud, the Trump loyalist’s motivations targeting Democratic officials are clearer than ever.

Fonte: Mother Jones Magazine