Bill Pulte, the Trump loyalist who leads the Federal Housing Finance Agency, sure has been busy lately. The White House’s embrace of 50-year mortgages? It was Pulte who made that happen. The weaponization of mortgage fraud allegations against the president’s perceived political enemies? That was Pulte’s handiwork, too.
But just as notably, the FHFA chief — a presidential sycophant recently described by The Washington Post as “a prominent Trump sidekick” — has taken some provocative moves within the agency he leads.
Earlier this month, the public learned about the ouster of the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s inspector general, which prompted Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts to respond: “Director Pulte has some answering to do.”
The IG wasn’t alone. A week later, there were related reports that Pulte also fired the internal watchdogs at the Federal National Mortgage Association, better known as Fannie Mae. According to Pulte, the employees were dismissed as part of a broader campaign against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
That explanation might not have been altogether true. The Wall Street Journal reported:
Fannie Mae watchdogs who were removed from their jobs had been probing if Trump appointee Bill Pulte had improperly obtained mortgage records of key Democratic officials, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, according to people familiar with the matter.
Fannie’s ethics and investigations group had received internal complaints alleging senior officials had improperly directed staff to access the mortgage documents of James and others, according to the people.
According to the Journal’s account, which has not been independently verified by MSNBC, Fannie Mae’s internal watchdogs were exploring whether Pulte had the authority to seek the documents and proper procedures were followed. They proceeded to elevate the matter to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s inspector general, who notified the U.S. attorney’s office in eastern Virginia.
It was around this time when Pulte fired the inspector general — and the Fannie Mae internal watchdogs.
An FHFA spokesperson denied anything untoward, though I don’t imagine we’ve heard the last of this one. Watch this space.
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
