Democrats seek probe into Pulte review of Fed governor Lisa Cook

House Democrats asked a watchdog to open a review of FHFA Director Bill Pulte’s allegations of mortgage fraud against Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook.

House Democrats on Thursday asked an independent watchdog to open a review of Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte’s mortgage fraud allegations against Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook.

The lawmakers, led by House Financial Services Committee ranking member Maxine Waters, D-Calif., told the FHFA’s inspector general in a letter obtained by NBC News that they are concerned about whether Pulte has “complied with all applicable federal and agency statutes, regulations, policies, and procedures during its acquisition, review, and/or public release of any document related to Governor Dr. Lisa Cook’s mortgage applications and any other mortgage related documents.”

In turn, the 24 Democrats asked the inspector general to “review all the circumstances and activities related to the FHFA’s acquisition and review of Governor Dr. Cook’s mortgage applications as well as any announcements, statements, and release of documents related to this matter in order to determine whether any statutory, regulatory, or agency policies may have been violated.”

Pulte, a former housing executive whom President Donald Trump appointed to run the mortgage agency, has attacked the Fed and Chair Jerome Powell for months. Last month, he said he made a criminal referral to the Justice Department accusing Cook of committing mortgage fraud. The DOJ launched an investigation. Cook has denied the accusations in legal filings.

Pulte hasn’t disclosed how he determined Cook had committed the alleged fraud. A week ago, CNBC asked him how came across Cook’s mortgage details. He responded that he received a “tip” but added, “I’m not going to explain our sources and methods, where we get tips from, who are whistleblowers.”