Fannie Mae ethics team gutted as they investigated FHFA head Bill Pulte
Anti-DEI measures cited to justify laying off Fannie Mae employees last month may have been a foil for firing ethics investigators looking into whether director Bill Pulte improperly obtained mortgage records for New York Attorney General Letitia James and other targets of President Trump according to a new assessment New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks to the media after pleading not guilty outside the United States District Court in Norfolk Va on Friday Oct AP Photo John Clark AP Photo John Clark Related Articles Gov Newsom says Trump climate-fighting absence is doubling down on stupid Epstein email says Trump knew about the girls as White House calls its release a Democratic smear Reports President Trump wants new offshore drilling off California coast You don t have certain talents Trump defends H- B visas as needed despite moves to raise costs Letters Let s hold the authorities accountable for SNAP fiasco Fannie Mae s ethics and investigations group was acting on complaints lodged via a staffer tip line that enables whistleblowers to description feasible internal misconduct In this episode staffers had claimed higher-ups had improperly instructed people to access mortgage documents of James and other Democratic executives the Wall Street Journal released Tuesday Investigators were looking into who ordered the document search whether Pulte was within his rights to do so and if proper procedure had been followed people familiar with the matter stated WSJ About a dozen of those dismissed from the Federal National Mortgage Association worked in the ethics compliance office gutting it as the unit investigated a high ranking Federal Housing Finance Agency official close to Pulte the Washington Post announced It was not clear whether that person had been Pulte whose predecessor was dismissed after declaring there wasn t enough evidence to charge top Democratic functionaries with any wrongdoing The group then passed its inquiry up the chain to the Office of Inspector General for FHFA the agency Pulte leads that oversees Fannie Mae and sibling agency Freddie Mac The acting inspector general Joe Allen sent it to the U S attorney s office in eastern Virginia sources disclosed He received a termination notice soon after from the compliance company The review landed on the desk of Lindsey Halligan newly sworn in as U S attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia The former White House aide and Trump personal attorney had taken over days after Trump forced out her predecessor Erik Siebert for saying he did not have enough evidence to prosecute Trump s perceived enemies Halligan indicted James Comey on Sept for allegedly lying to Congress and James for alleged mortgage fraud on Oct Both have pleaded not guilty James is pushing to have her development dismissed and Halligan s appointment declared illegal With News Wire Services
