"William Pulte, a staunch Trump defender and the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), has accused James, Adam Schiff, a California senator, and Lisa Cook, a federal reserve governor, of mortgage fraud. All three have denied the accusations and James was indicted on specious federal charges last month. Experts have raised questions about all three referrals and see them as a thinly veiled effort by Trump to target political rivals."
"Ethics and internal investigation officials at Fannie Mae, the mortgage financing provider, had received internal complaints that senior officials at FHFA had ordered employees to access the mortgage documents of James and others, the Journal reported on Tuesday. They passed on their investigation to the inspector general's office, who subsequently forwarded it to the US attorney for the eastern district of Virginia. Trump installed an ally, Lindsey Halligan, in that job last month."
"Halligan was unhappy to have been sent the information, which could become part of discovery she would be required to hand over to James's lawyers, and forwarded the communication to the White House, according to a person familiar with the matter. This is more Fake News from people who are trying to impede the criminal justice system, a spokesperson for FHFA said in a statement."
Ethics officials at Fannie Mae were removed while investigating alleged improper access to mortgage documents belonging to Letitia James and other Democratic officials. Senior FHFA officials allegedly ordered employees to access those mortgage records. Fannie Mae ethics staff passed complaints to the FHFA inspector general, which forwarded them to the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. FHFA Director William Pulte accused James, Adam Schiff, and Lisa Cook of mortgage fraud; all three denied the accusations. Lindsey Halligan, recently installed in that U.S. attorney role, received the information and forwarded it to the White House. Experts question the referrals and view them as politically motivated.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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