Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, left, and Rep. Eric Swalwell Reuters

Rep. Eric Swalwell on Tuesday filed a civil lawsuit against Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, alleging violations of the Privacy Act and First Amendment over Pulte’s criminal referral of him to the Justice Department for alleged mortgage fraud violations.

In the suit, filed in federal court in Washington, DC, the California Democrat and outspoken critic of President Donald Trump alleged that Pulte abused his position as federal housing chief “by scouring databases at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac” for private mortgage records of prominent Democrats, including Swalwell.

Pulte’s actions represented “a gross abuse of power that violated the law,” Swalwell alleged, by targeting him

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