In this screenshot taken from a congress.gov webcast, impeachment manager Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) speaks during the second day of President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial at the Capitol in Washington, Feb. 10, 2021.
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Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., has dropped his lawsuit against Bill Pelt, accusing the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency of weaponizing a mortgage fraud investigation to target critics of President Donald Trump.
Mr. Swalwell, a California gubernatorial candidate, filed the lawsuit in November, alleging that Mr. Pulte’s unlawful access and disclosure of his personal mortgage records violated federal privacy laws and the First Amendment’s “rock-solid prohibition on viewpoint-based retaliation.”
“Secretary Pruitt scoured the personal records of his political opponents in order to silence them,” Swalwell wrote in a statement to X at the time.
Mr. Swalwell served seven terms in the House of Representatives, served as the House impeachment manager during Mr. Trump’s second impeachment, and has long been one of the president’s most vocal critics.
Mr. Pruitt referred Mr. Swalwell to the Department of Justice over allegations that Mr. Swalwell may have made false or misleading statements on loan documents for Washington Homes. Swalwell said the claim was “patently false.”
Mr. Swalwell’s decision to drop the lawsuit comes as his gubernatorial opponent questions his eligibility to run for California’s top election, with rival Democrat Tom Steyer accusing him of living in California “on paper only.”
A separate lawsuit filed by conservative filmmaker Joel Gilbert seeking to block Swalwell from appearing on the ballot was tentatively dismissed Friday after a California judge found sufficient evidence that Swalwell had lived in the state for the requisite five years.
“Mr. Pulte threatened to sue. We found him bluffing. He never brought it up,” Swalwell campaign spokesperson Micah Beasley told CNBC. “And we won a case in California on a similar nonsense issue. The case was resolved.”
Pulte did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
