No response returned
Washington — A Trump administration official has referred California Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell to the Justice Department over alleged tax and mortgage fraud, sources told Autos News.
The official, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, has leveled similar accusations against several other officials, including Democrats New York Attorney General Letitia James and California Sen. Adam Schiff, and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.
James on one count of bank fraud and one count of making false statements to a financial institution last month and . James' attorneys the case is politically motivated, saying the administration is targeting her for her role in bringing civil fraud charges against President Trump in New York.
Mr. Trump in August after Pulte accused her of making misrepresentations on mortgage documents. But Cook filed a lawsuit arguing her removal was unlawful, and the Supreme Court in January on whether Mr. Trump can fire her from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.
The allegations against Swalwell are connected to a property in Washington, D.C., the sources said. The Justice Department had no comment.
In a statement, Swalwell delivered an appeal to President Trump to "do better. Be better."
"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 said in a statement. "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."
Swalwell against Mr. Trump in March 2021 over his actions relating to the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol. In the suit, the California Democrat accuses the president of inciting the violence at the Capitol with his tweets and speech outside the White House on the morning of Jan. 6, in violation of federal civil rights laws and D.C. law. The case has continued to move forward in the federal district court in Washington.
Swalwell said in his statement that he would not end his lawsuit against the president.
"And I will not stop speaking out against the president and speaking up for Californians," he continued.
Swalwell has been a vocal critic of Mr. Trump and during Mr. Trump's second impeachment trial, which stemmed from the Jan. 6 attack. He in June that he took out a liability insurance policy to protect himself due to concerns of potential legal risk during Mr. Trump's second term.
