A group of 24 Democrats, led by House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Rep. Maxine Waters of California, have sent a letter to Acting Inspector General of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) John Allen, requesting an investigation into the propriety of and the process behind mortgage fraud allegations into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook by FHFA Director Bill Pulte.
In the letter, Rep. Waters and Committee Democrats raise concerns about the process behind the FHFA’s investigation into Cook and her mortgage applications, FHFA Director Pulte’s subsequent criminal referrals, and whether these actions were conducted in compliance with federal laws, regulations, and agency procedures. Rep. Waters urges the FHFA Inspector General to clarify the processes used to acquire, review, and publicly release documents related to Cook’s mortgage applications.
“We are concerned whether the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and in particular Director Pulte has complied with all applicable federal and agency statutes, regulations, policies, and procedures during its acquisition, review, and/or public release of any document related to Governor Dr. Lisa Cook’s mortgage applications and any other mortgage related documents,” wrote the lawmakers. “ Therefore, we request that you review all the circumstances and activities related to the FHFA’s acquisition and review of Governor Dr. Cook’s mortgage applications, as well as any announcements, statements, and release of documents related to this matter in order to determine whether any statutory, regulatory, or agency policies may have been violated.”
Pulte accused Cook of mortgage fraud in late August after designating a Michigan home and an Atlanta condominium as her primary residences on loan applications, potentially securing more favorable terms. The FHFA Director posted a series of images and documents on X regarding Cook’s Michigan residence and another described as an “Atlanta condo.”
“U.S. Federal Housing FHFA, alleges in a Criminal Referral to the Department of Justice that Federal Reserve Governor, Lisa D. Cook, committed mortgage fraud by designating her out of state condo as her primary residence, just two weeks after taking a loan on her Michigan home where she also declared it as her primary residence,” posted Pulte on X. “When someone commits mortgage fraud, they undermine the faith and integrity of our System. It does not matter who you are—no one is above the law. We have sent a Criminal Referral to the Department of Justice with regard to the allegations against Ms. Cook, and the DOJ should go wherever the facts may lead them.”
The letter from Rep. Waters and the House Democrats asked, among other questions:
- What were the sets of events that initially led to questions regarding Dr. Cook’s mortgage?
- Did the information arise in the course of a standard, planned audit, review or investigation?
- Are there any indications that the information was acquired as a result of a search specifically initiated to look at mortgages involving a specific individual or group of individuals?
- Were the appropriate members of the FHFA legal staff and the appropriate members of the FHFA policy staff involved in the review and analysis process?
- What role did those staff members play in the review and ultimate decision regarding potential legal infractions and the decision to refer the matter to the Department of Justice?
- Did each stage of this process addressed above comply with all applicable federal and agency statutes, regulations, and procedures regarding the protection and public release of sensitive and personally identifiable information?
Earlier this week, Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Pulte accusing him of abuse of FHFA authority and resources to investigate political enemies of President Donald Trump.
“In recent months, you personally and publicly referred three prominent public officials to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for prosecution for alleged mortgage fraud,” said the letter. “Two of the referrals are for United States Senator Adam Schiff and New York State Attorney General Letitia James, both of whom are President Trump’s political opponents and public figures he has viciously attacked for years. More recently, you also referred Governor Lisa Cook, who occupies a crucial leadership role on the Federal Reserve Board which President Trump has made clear he seeks to take over and control. Just days after your referral, President Trump fired Governor Cook, relying on your allegations as the basis for her dismissal and as the pretext for his lawless and rapacious power grab.”
Rep. Raskin contends that the FHFA Director used his role to “conduct deep-sea fishing expeditions of Americans’ personal financial information” to deliver artificial intelligence (AI)-aided reports on officials who have criticized the President.
Click here for more on the letter to FHFA Acting Inspector General Allen.
