California Rep. Eric Swalwell accuses Bill Pulte of violating the Privacy Act and First Amendment.
Rep. Eric Swalwell on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against Bill Pulte, accusing the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency of violating the Privacy Act and First Amendment in order to refer the California Democrat to the Justice Department.
The suit, filed in a federal court in Washington, alleges that due to Swalwell’s criticism of President Donald Trump, Pulte began “scouring databases at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac” in order to acquire Swalwell’s private mortgage records. This, the suit argues, violated the First Amendment’s “bedrock prohibition on viewpoint-based retaliation.”
Swalwell — who recently announced a gubernatorial bid — accuses Pulte of doing the same to other politicians who have caught Trump’s ire, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, Federal Reserve board member Lisa Cook and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).
“Director Pulte has combed through private records of political opponents. To silence them,” Swalwell said in a statement. “There’s a reason the First Amendment — the freedom of speech — comes before all others.”
The California gubernatorial hopeful also alleges that Pulte “flouted” the Privacy Act of 1974, which forbids federal agencies from disclosing sensitive information about an individual for any purpose not authorized by law.
Earlier this month, Pulte referred Swalwell to the Department of Justice for a potential federal criminal probe, alleging that Swalwell had engaged in mortgage and tax fraud related to a home in Washington.
Swalwell’s complaint argues that the referral has harmed the Democrat’s reputation “at a critical juncture in his career: the very moment when he had planned to announce his campaign for Governor of California.”
A representative for Pulte did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Swalwell has denied the allegations of fraud. He is asking the court to instruct Pulte to withdraw his criminal referral to the DOJ as well as for damages for Privacy Act violations.