Banking and Finance Law Daily Wrap Up, OVERSIGHT AND INVESTIGATION—Raskin initiates probe into alleged abuse of power at FHFA, (Sep 10, 2025)

By Kathleen Bianco, J.D.

The Maryland representative asserts that the FHFA is ignoring soaring housing costs and other issues affecting Americans to target the political enemies of the Trump Administration.

Representative Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to William Pulte, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), instructing the housing agency to provide the Judiciary Committee with certain records related to mortgage investigations under the Trump Administration; the use of artificial intelligence to identify mortgage fraud; and all communications between the agency and the White House related to the investigation of identified public officials. In his letter dated Sept. 8, 2025, Raskin points out specific accusations lodged against three prominent public officials by the agency alleging mortgage fraud, asserting that the actions appear to be political retribution rather than housing oversight. The letter set a deadline of 5:00 p.m. on Sept. 22, 2025, for the production of the requested documentation.

In his letter, Raskin accuses Pulte of abusing his authority by conducting politically motivated investigations targeting President Trump’s opponents under the guise of mortgage fraud probes. Raskin highlights that Pulte referred Senator Adam Schiff, Attorney General Letitia James, and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook to the Department of Justice, alleging fraudulent mortgage filings, actions Raskin calls “partisan, selective, vindictive, and pretextual.” Raskin contends that these referrals were coordinated with the White House and aided by artificial intelligence tools to mine personal financial data, asserting that Pulte appears to “have willingly and eagerly weaponized the financial information held in trust by your agency to go after [y]our enemies while remaining curiously silent about your friends.”

Raskin further criticizes the tactics used by the agency to report the mortgage fraud investigations involving these public officials, indicating that “the appearance of bias and vindictive investigation is heightened by the manner in which Director Pulte publicized his allegations.” He notes that instead of following the usual confidential referral process through the FHFA Inspector General, Pulte personally made the referrals to the DOJ and then aggressively publicized them on social media. Specifically, in the case of Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook, Raskin implies that these tactics were designed to pressure Cook and provide a pretext for her removal from the Board of Governors, noting that 10 days after the public referral, President Trump “illegally fired her based solely on your unproven and pretextual public referral, without any other evidence or due process.”

Raskin cites these concerns and other issues related to the use of AI tools to mine the personal financial information of Americans along with the inability or unwillingness of the agency to answer basic questions related to the process behind these referrals as the impetus behind his request for documentation. “The American people have a right to understand why, in the midst of a housing affordability crisis, the FHFA Director is primarily concerned with investigating the President’s enemies rather than with reducing housing costs for millions of anxious Americans,” Raskin is quoted as saying in a press release issued by the House Judiciary Committee.

Documents requested. The letter from Raskin requests that the FHFA produce by Sept. 22, 2025, the following documentation:

1. All records related to mortgage investigations initiated or approved by FHFA or other federal agencies since Jan. 20, 2025, involving named officials such as Letitia James, Adam Schiff, Lisa Cook, Jerome Powell, and others.

2. All “document demands” sent by FHFA’s Inspector General to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac concerning the same individuals.

3. All procedural documents dating back to January 2018 regarding FHFA’s handling of mortgage fraud investigations.

4. Internal communications about changes in how FHFA or related entities identify, investigate, or refer mortgage fraud cases, including any deviations from standard procedures or staffing changes.

5. All documents related to the use of artificial intelligence in identifying mortgage fraud dating back to Jan. 20, 2025.

6. All communications dating back to Jan. 20, 2025, between FHFA and White House staff regarding investigations of public officials or mortgage fraud.

Companies: Fannie Mae; Freddie Mac

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