Trump official refers Rep. Eric Swalwell for a federal criminal probe over alleged mortgage fraud

WASHINGTON — A top housing official in President Donald Trump’s administration has referred California Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell to the Justice Department for a potential federal criminal probe, based on allegations of mortgage and tax fraud related to a Washington, D.C., home, according to a person familiar with the referral.

He is the fourth Democratic official to face mortgage fraud allegations in recent months.

Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, alleged in a letter sent to Attorney General Pam Bondi on Wednesday that Swalwell may have made false or misleading statements in loan documents.

The matter has also been referred to the agency’s acting inspector general, this person said.

“As the most vocal critic of Donald Trump over the last decade and as the only person who still has a surviving lawsuit against him, the only thing I am surprised about is that it took him this long to come after me,” Swalwell said in a statement to NBC News.

The referral, according to the source, alleges several million dollars worth of loans and refinancing based on Swalwell declaring his primary residence as Washington.

It calls for an investigation into possible mortgage fraud, state and local tax fraud, and insurance fraud, as well as any related crimes.

The Justice Department did not immediately return a request for comment.

The move comes as Trump has publicly urged the prosecution of his political opponents.

Pulte previously sent criminal referrals to the Justice Department for two other prominent Democratic critics of Trump, New York Attorney General Letitia James and Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., as well as Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook — who was nominated by then-President Joe Biden — on allegations of mortgage fraud. All three have denied wrongdoing.

“Like James Comey and John Bolton, Adam Schiff and Lisa Cook, Letitia James and the dozens more to come — I refuse to live in fear in what was once the freest country in the world,” he added, referring to other Democrats and Trump critics who have been targeted by the administration. “Of course, I will not end my lawsuit against him. And I will not stop speaking out against the President and speaking up for Californians.”

NBC News previously reported that Bondi appointed a “special attorney” to probe the allegations against Schiff and James.

Swalwell and Trump have clashed repeatedly since Trump’s 2016 election, and he is among the president’s most outspoken critics in Congress.

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