House

Swalwell backs off case against Pulte in mortgage fraud fight

by Ryan Mancini - 03/21/26 7:46 PM ET

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Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) on Friday dropped his lawsuit against Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte after Swalwell was accused of mortgage fraud.

Swalwell sued Pulte in November, accusing him of abusing his authority in forwarding a criminal referral regarding the lawmaker’s mortgage to the Department of Justice. Swalwell asked the courts to demand Pulte that withdraw the referral, claiming the information was wrongly obtained.

Lawyers for Swalwell wrote that Pulte searched for “the private mortgage records of several prominent Democrats,” and said Swalwell was targeted for being “one of the president’s most vocal and visible critics in Congress.”

Several other Democrats have also faced criminal referrals in connection with mortgage fraud since Trump returned to office last year, including New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.). Pulte also sent a similar referral to the Justice Department last year for Federal Reserve board of governors member Lisa Cook.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in December that it was investigating Pulte over the mortgage referrals following a request from Senate Democrats.

Swalwell’s dropping of the suit also comes after conservative filmmaker Joel Gilbert tried to have Swalwell, who is running for governor, removed from the November ballot in California over his residency, The Sacramento Bee reported.

Gilbert claimed Swalwell does not live in California, therefore making him ineligible to run for governor. Swalwell and his wife are listed as residents of Livermore, Calif., a city in the congressman’s district, the outlet noted.

Swalwell’s residence has also been a point of contention in the Democratic primary. Billionaire Tom Steyer’s campaign filed a petition to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber to enforce a dormant residency requirement in the race. Steyer’s general counsel claimed that Swalwell “appears to live in California on paper only.”

“The Trump Administration could question Swalwell’s legitimacy as Governor and, therefore, imperil California’s receipt of federal funds, the state’s ability to deploy the California National Guard, and act in emergencies,” the letter to Weber, obtained by Politico, reads.

Swalwell’s campaign told Politico that Steyer “has sunk to a new low, peddling far-right MAGA conspiracy theorist Joel Gilbert’s tired talking points.”

Sophie Brams contributed.

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