Rep. Swalwell sues Trump administration official over mortgage fraud investigation
In this June 4, 2024, file photo, House Judiciary Committee member Rep. Eric Swalwell speaks during a hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images, FILE
(WASHINGTON) — A member of Congress is suing a Trump administration official who over the last year has triggered mortgage fraud investigations into several of President Donald Trump’s political adversaries.
U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., filed suit Tuesday against William Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, for violating his First Amendment rights and privacy by allegedly using government databases to “concoct fanciful allegations of mortgage fraud” against him.
Swalwell alleges that Pulte “abused his position” by using databases maintained by mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to pull private mortgage records of prominent Democrats he has accused of fraud, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, Fed governor Lisa Cook and Rep. Adam Schiff.
According to the complaint, Pulte issued a criminal referral against Swalwell earlier this month based on private mortgage records. Swalwell’s lawyers argue the referral violates his First Amendment rights — allegedly punishing him for his criticism of the president — as well as a federal law that prohibits federal officials from disclosing sensitive information about any individual unless it is explicitly authorized by law.
“Pulte’s referral to the Justice Department was not only a gross mischaracterization of reality. It also represented a gross abuse of power that violated the law,” the complaint says.
Pulte has maintained that the documents from his referrals are part of the public record. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
Swalwell has denied committing mortgage fraud, arguing that he maintains his primary residence in California while his wife’s primary residence is in Washington, D.C.
James, who successfully brought a civil fraud case against Trump last year, was indicted on Oct. 9 on charges that she falsely described a property she purchased in Norfolk, Virginia, as a second home instead of an investment property in order to obtain a lower mortgage rate. She pleaded not guilty to all charges.
A federal judge on Monday dismissed the case against James on the grounds that the interim U.S. attorney who brought the case was unconstitutionally appointed.
“Since taking office, President Trump has engaged in unprecedented efforts to leverage the power of the Federal Government to seek retribution against his political enemies,” Swalwell’s lawsuit said. “Those efforts have resulted in the Department of Justice conducting a series of high-profile criminal investigations and prosecutions nakedly targeting some of the President’s most outspoken critics.” ]”Defendants’ unlawful actions in this case were not the result of some inadvertent failure to comply with obscure or technical legal requirements. Rather, they represent a purposeful attack on core democratic norms and reflect a base desire to achieve exactly what the First Amendment and the Privacy Act exist to prevent: the use of government machinery to chill and silence the government’s critics,” said the complaint.
Swalwell asked a federal judge to declare Pulte’s actions unlawful, force the withdrawal of the criminal referral, and issue damages.
The Department of Justice, according to sources, is scrutinizing whether Pulte and U.S. Pardon Attorney Ed Martin potentially jeopardized the probes into James and Schiff by enlisting unauthorized individuals outside the Justice Department to help conduct the investigations, ABC News previously reported.
(NEW YORK) — Hurricane Gabrielle, which has now rapidly intensified into a major Category 4 storm, is the second major hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Gabrielle, currently located southeast of Bermuda, now has maximum sustained winds of 140 mph.
Gabrielle is also the second tropical system to undergo rapid intensification this year.
On average, the second major hurricane forms around Sept. 19, meaning Gabrielle’s status aligns with what is typically expected during the Atlantic hurricane season.
As the system continues to track over warm waters and favorable atmospheric conditions, Gabrielle could strengthen even more on Monday before it begins to weaken by Wednesday.
There are currently not any tropical alerts for Bermuda as the storm is expected to pass to the east, keeping rain and wind away from the island.
As the storm passes east of Bermuda, Gabrielle will produce large swells and rip currents along the island through early this week.
The storm could also bring rip currents to the East Coast on Monday, with a high risk from the Jersey Shore to the Carolinas, along with parts of Florida’s East Coast.
The hurricane will push northeast and back out to the central Atlantic in the coming days and will weaken in the process. The storm could sweep along or north of the Azores — a group of islands west of Portugal — on Thursday night and Friday.
As of Monday, Gabrielle does not pose a threat to the United States.
ABC News’ Kenton Gewecke and Melissa Griffin contributed to this report.
The moon rises behind the skyline of lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center as the Tribute in Light is tested ahead of the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in New York City on September 8, 2025. Gary Hershorn/ABC News
(NEW YORK) — The Sept. 11, 2001, terror attack on the World Trade Center is still killing New York City firefighters 24 years later.
On Tuesday, the New York City Fire Department will remember 39 members who died in the past year of illnesses related to their work during the rescue and recovery efforts at what was then known as The Pile.
Their names will be added to the FDNY World Trade Center Memorial Wall during a Tuesday afternoon ceremony at the department’s Brooklyn headquarters. The inscription on the wall says, “Dedicated to the memory of those who bravely served this department protecting life and property in the City of New York in the rescue and recovery effort at Manhattan Box 5-5-8087 World Trade Center.”
The FDNY has lost more than 400 members to World Trade Center illnesses, surpassing the 343 firefighters killed on 9/11 itself.
Overall, 2,753 people were killed at the World Trade Center on 9/11.
Thursday will mark 24 years since the terror attacks. The annual commemoration ceremony at the 9/11 Memorial in Lower Manhattan will begin at 8:40 a.m. Thursday.
(SALT LAKE CITY) — The FBI said it has recovered what is believed to be the weapon used in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, the founder of the conservative youth activist organization Turning Point USA, during an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
A “high-powered bolt action rifle,” which officials believe was the weapon used in the shooting, was recovered in a wooded area near where the shooting took place, according to Salt Lake City FBI Special Agent Robert Bohls.
The manhunt for the suspect, who is believed to be college-aged, continues, with officials working “around the clock” to locate the individual, officials said during a press conference on Thursday.
The FBI asked for tips from the public as the manhunt for the perpetrator continued, urging anyone with information, photos and video from the incident to share it with investigators.
FBI Director Kash Patel said earlier the agency “stands in full support of the ongoing response and investigation.”
UVU will be closed until Sept. 14, according to a notice posted on the university’s website.
As the search for the suspect continued, President Donald Trump and prominent MAGA personalities sought to tie the killing to Democratic political rhetoric.
In a video posted to social media, Trump said, “It’s a long past time for all Americans and the media to confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequence of demonizing those with whom you disagree.”
“For years, those on the radical Left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world’s worst mass murderers and criminals,” he added. “This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now.”
Trump’s son Eric, meanwhile, told Fox News’ Sean Hannity he was “sick and tired of seeing the bullets — they are only going one way.”
Controversial campus visit
Kirk — a 31-year-old father of two — was considered a confidant of Trump and highly influential in the conservative youth movement.
He founded the conservative advocacy group Turning Point USA in 2012 at the age of 18, and in the 2024 elections was credited with building significant support for Trump among young voters.
He was hit by a single shot during the outdoors event at the university’s Orem campus shortly after noon. Kirk was taken to hospital but was later pronounced dead.
The Utah event was expected to include a “prove me wrong” table, according to the tour’s website.
Ahead of Kirk’s visit to Utah Valley University, some students started an online petition asking university administrators to stop him from coming.
Though Kirk’s visit was controversial on campus, police were tracking no specific or credible threats before the fatal shooting, Utah law enforcement sources told ABC News.
More than 3,000 people were estimated to be at the event, according to the university’s police chief, Jeff Long. There were six police officers, along with Kirk’s private security, according to Long.
Ongoing manhunt
Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason called the shooting a “targeted attack,” and said the scene is a “very large area.”
Mason said the “only information” they have on the possible shooter was taken from CCTV on campus, and that the person was dressed in all dark clothing. The shot was fired on campus from a “longer distance,” potentially from a roof, he said.
There is no evidence that anyone else was involved, according to authorities.
Authorities are combing through video from the scene, including this video which appears to show a person on the roof immediately following the shooting, according to sources familiar with the ongoing investigation.
During a press conference yesterday, authorities said the shot came “potentially from a roof, yes. A longer distance shot from a roof.”
Separately, authorities said they are also looking at security camera video depicting someone dressed in all dark clothing and that “the shooter is believed to have fired from the roof of a building down to the location of the public event in the student courtyard,” according to a statement from law enforcement officials last night.
The FBI has established a digital media tip line for the public to provide any tips to investigators, including photos or video of the incident.
Salt Lake City FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Bohls said the investigation is in the early stages.
“We are following all the leads and all the evidence,” he said during the press briefing on Wednesday.
The Utah Department of Public of Safety said in an update Wednesday night that two people were initially taken into custody after the shooting but later released.
The first was released and later charged with obstruction by university police. The second person was taken into custody and released after an “interrogation” by law enforcement, the department said.
Utah authorities said “there are no current ties to the shooting with either of these individuals.”
Tributes from both parties
Trump was among those who paid tribute to Kirk.
“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” Trump said on social media. “No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”
“It’s horrific. It’s one of the most horrible things I’ve ever seen,” Trump told ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl.
“He was a great guy,” Trump said. “He was a good man. He was an incredible guy. Nobody like him.”
Trump ordered all American flags throughout the country to be lowered to half-staff through Sunday evening in Kirk’s honor.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox called the fatal shooting a “political assassination.”
Vice President JD Vance called Kirk “a genuinely good guy and a young father” while urging prayers in the aftermath of the shooting.
Cox said earlier he was being briefed “following the violence directed at Charlie Kirk” during the conservative political activist’s visit to the campus.
“Those responsible will be held fully accountable. Violence has no place in our public life. Americans of every political persuasion must unite in condemning this act,” he said on X.
Condemnation came from both sides of the political spectrum.
“There is no place in our country for this kind of violence. It must end now,” Former President Joe Biden said. “Jill and I are praying for Charlie Kirk’s family and loved ones.”
“The attack on Charlie Kirk is horrifying and this growing type of unconscionable violence cannot be allowed in our society,” Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, said on X.
Fellow Democratic governor, California’s Gavin Newsom, said on X that the “attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible. In the United States of America, we must reject political violence in EVERY form.”
ABC News’ Aaron Katersky, Ivan Pereira, Lalee Ibssa, Isabella Murray, Katherine Faulders, Jack Date, Chris Looft and Helena Skinner contributed to this report.
