Eric Swalwell accused of mortgage fraud: FHFA makes criminal referral

If there's one thing the Trump era excels at, it's draining the swamp one fraudulent mortgage at a time. Enter Rep. Eric Swalwell, aka "Fartwell" (D-CA), the perpetually aggrieved House Democrat who's now staring down a criminal referral from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) for what sure smells like good old-fashioned mortgage fraud.

In a letter dropped Wednesday to incoming Attorney General Pam Bondi, FHFA Director Bill Pulte didn't mince words: He wants a full probe into Swalwell's alleged fibs about snagging a swanky $1.2 million pad in D.C.'s Eckington neighborhood back in 2020. The congressman apparently passed it off as his "primary residence" to score sweetheart loans and refinancing deals worth millions. A source familiar with this situation said this little sleight-of-hand could balloon into mortgage fraud, insurance fraud, local tax dodging, you name the grift, it's on the table.

Swalwell, never one to let a potential felony crimp his style, fired back Thursday with all the victimhood he could muster, basically blaming it on his Trump Derangement Syndrome hall-of-fame status. "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," he whined in a statement.

It isn't like Swalwell's the only blue-team bigwig catching heat from Pulte's truth squad. This guy has been busy dropping referrals like they're hot mixtapes: New York AG Letitia James (D-NY), who has her own Trump grudge-fest going; Lisa Cook, that Federal Reserve Board brainiac; and even Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the guy who turned "Russian collusion" into a full-time job. 

The pattern? All these geniuses allegedly dressed up their vacation homes or cash cows as "primary residences" to juice those loan rates. Shocking. Is it possible that Democrats are cutting corners? 

Of course, Swalwell is not just any random fraud suspect; he's the Capitol-crusading hero who's still got that Jan. 6 lawsuit humming against Trump for "inciting a riot." But Fartwell isn't afraid. "I refuse to live in fear in what was once the freest country in the world," he trumpeted. "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."

Back in September, Swalwell was already playing the martyr card, admitting he "fully" expects the Trump crew to come for him. As for that Eckington manse, a stone's throw from the Capitol, it's no slouch: six bedrooms, five full baths plus a powder room, over 3,000 square feet of 1920s charm gutted and flipped into millennial-modern vibes, per Variety. Must be tough pretending that's your "primary" crash pad while jetting back to the Golden State. Can't wait for the receipts . . . or the plea deal.

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Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac's NY offices to close due to Letitia James' "corrupt policies"

If arrogance had a face

It looks like New York Attorney General Letitia James is finding out that actions have consequences. Fox News Digital dropped an exclusive bombshell Thursday, revealing that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are permanently shuttering their New York state offices, and they're pointing the finger squarely at James' "corrupt and dangerous business practices."

A source close to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), the folks who keep an eye on government-sponsored enterprises like Fannie and Freddie, said: "We are shutting down the two New York offices for Fannie and Freddie as a result of Letitia James' corrupt and dangerous business practices in the state." It doesn't get much clearer than that.

Expect a public announcement on the closures later today, per Fox.

But don’t worry, New Yorkers, Fannie and Freddie aren’t abandoning you entirely. "We’ll still employ New York residents, and we'll still continue to do mortgage loans in New York, of course," the source added. "But we are going to eliminate our physical presence. And to the extent that we have leases, we are going to be subleasing those." So, they're keeping the lights on for business, but they're done with New York's brick-and-mortar scene.

This move comes hot on the heels of a Department of Justice investigation into James' personal mortgage records, which kicked off earlier this year after FHFA chief Bill Pulte sent a criminal referral to the DOJ in April. The allegations claim that James might have fudged some paperwork to score better loan terms. At the center of the probe is a Norfolk, Virginia, home James bought in 2023, which she listed as her primary residence on mortgage documents and a Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac form. Problem is, as New York's AG, she's legally required to live in the Empire State. 

But that's not all. The referral also flagged a Brooklyn property James bought back in 2001. The certificate of occupancy says it's a five-unit residence, but James' mortgage docs claim it’s a four-unit property. That kind of discrepancy could, shall we say, complicate mortgage agreements, because somewhere along the line, she's lying.

James, of course, is denying any wrongdoing. 

Her office told the New York Times in April that a separate loan application for the Virginia home made it clear she wouldn't be living there full-time, and her mortgage agreement didn’t require it to be her primary residence. Her attorney, Abbe Lowell, went on the offensive, firing off a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi calling the referral "three pages of stale, threadbare allegations with no reason to proceed other than they are ‘based on media reports’ and are the next salvo in President Trump’s revenge tour against Attorney General James." A "revenge tour"? That's some spicy rhetoric.

Speaking of the President, James has made no secret of her disdain for the 47th president. She campaigned for AG in 2018 by promising to go after him with the full force of the law, vowing to expose the "con man" after her victory. Her office racked up nearly 100 legal challenges against Trump's first administration, and after his 2024 win, she doubled down, pledging to keep hauling him into court to "defend the rights of New Yorkers and the rule of law." 

So, here we are. Fannie and Freddie are packing up their New York offices, the DOJ is sniffing around James' mortgage deals, and the political feud between James and Trump is as fiery as ever. Something tells me this story has more twists to come. 

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