President Donald Trump has used his office to target those he insists have wronged him in the past, from government functionaries to political rivals to celebrity antagonists like Rosie O'Donnell. As part of his recent effort to oust Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, Trump has trotted out a new weapon: mortgage records, which the president has used to accuse Cook and others of criminal fraud.
In addition to Cook, the White House has accused longtime foes Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and New York Attorney General Letitia James of mortgage fraud in an "escalation" of how the administration seeks to "penalize, remove or even jail adversaries," said The Washington Post. The accusations also serve to "underscore the influence" of Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, a "close Trump ally" sitting atop the "relatively small department" that oversees the country's mortgage markets. The effort is akin to a "county sheriff who has his deputies pull over his political opponents every time they drive on the parkway," said Georgetown Law School financial regulations expert Adam Levitin to the Post.
As Trump's "secret weapon," Pulte has used his office to become an "attack dog" who wields property records "like a club," said Fortune. By using his access to financial data to "make accusations of mortgage fraud and encourage criminal investigations," Pulte has transformed his "obscure position" to become a "presidential enforcer." The tactic "almost always begins" with Pulte making accusations on social media, which are then "signal-boosted by Trump and right-wing influencers," The Independent said. It's a maneuver "reminiscent of the strategy" Trump used in 2019 against Joe Biden, in which an "accusation was enough" for the president. Trump's pivot toward using mortgage fraud as a cudgel is also notable as "an echo — albeit in miniature —" of what he himself was found liable for in a New York City civil case in 2024, The New York Times said.
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By accusing Cook of what is known as "occupancy mortgage fraud," the White House alleges she had claimed homes in two different states as her "primary residence at the same time," said CNBC. It's a type of fraud that "can be difficult to prove," with just 38 offenders "sentenced in the federal system" last year. The mortgage fraud allegations against Cook in particular are "small ball" and face an uphill struggle in court, said former Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter on CNBC's "Squawk Box." But there's a "difference between the court of law and the court of public opinion."
What next?
Cook's attempted firing by the president lacks "any factual or legal basis," her attorney Abbe Lowell said in a statement to CNN. "We will be filing a lawsuit challenging this illegal action." The Federal Reserve is going to "abide by any court decision while continuing to carry out its mission," a spokesperson said in a statement to The Washington Post.
For its part, the White House has shown little sign of backing down from its newfound vector for potential retribution. "If you commit mortgage fraud in America," said Pulte on X, "we will come after you, no matter who you are." The Federal Housing Finance Agency has received an "insane amount" of tips about other mortgage fraud to pursue, including against people in power, which is "right in the bull's eye of what my job is," Pulte said last week to Bloomberg.
For Cook, Schiff and James, who have already found themselves in Pulte and Trump's mortgage-focused sights, the "accusations have hit their mark" in terms of their targets' reputations, said the Los Angeles Times. Each has been forced to "respond through public statements and the hiring of legal counsel" in the face of "febrile commentary" that makes the allegations against them "indistinguishable from partisan smears."
If administration critics like them can be targeted, said Levitin at Credit Slips, "what stops Pulte from threatening to review the mortgage application of anyone who speaks out?" And "if politicized mortgage application reviews are somehow ok, won't politicized IRS audits be next?
