“[A]n ominous turn in political lawfare.”

That’s how The Wall Street Journal described what’s going on at the FHFA which, under Bill Pulte, is seemingly morphing into an enforcement arm for Donald Tump in his efforts to purge dissent — real and imagined — from the federal bureaucracy.

Pulte’s singling out of Fed governor Lisa Cook for alleged mortgage fraud — accusations the Fed estimated in 2023 could apply to nearly 23,000 borrowers who took on a mortgage between 2005 and 2017 — appears to be evidence that Pulte’s role at the regulator goes well beyond his statutory remit.

As the Journal‘s piece noted, Pulte, in his capacity as agency director, has “access to mortgage information on millions of Americans.” It’s implausible, to put it mildly, that he came across Cook’s mortgages by accident, and maybe no one’s claiming that he did. For all I know, the allegations against Cook stem from some routine — even legally-mandated — review of assets held by public officials.

Whatever the case — and this was the gist of the Journal‘s analysis — the Cook allegations mark the third instance of Pulte referring Trump’s antagonists for criminal prosecution acting in his capacity as overseer for Fannie and Freddie. To call that mission creep seems an understatement.

With Cook, Pulte’s moved beyond political actors with an axe to grind (Pulte’s other targets were Letitia James and Adam Schiff) to technocrats whose “deep state” bona fides are confined to slights of omission. Cook didn’t investigate Trump for colluding with a hostile foreign power, nor charge him with civil fraud. All she did was vote not to cut rates. That’s what counts as “opposition” to Trump’s agenda now. What’s next? A red hat mandate for entry into all public offices?

If Pulte were truly interested in owner-occupancy fraud, he’d be opening an investigation into how it is that nearly 23,000 people got away with it over a dozen years, not cross-checking a spreadsheet to lists of Trump’s political opponents and Biden appointees to see if there’s any overlap for Pam Bondi to selectively prosecute.

Pulte went so far this week to suggest, without evidence, that Jerome Powell’s “complicit with Cook’s alleged fraud.” As The Journal wondered, “why would [Powell] know anything about her mortgages?”

He wouldn’t, of course, and Pulte’s fully apprised of that. The point — Pulte’s point — is to undermine the credibility of the institution in the eyes of the public so that voters and Republicans in Congress will acquiesce to Trump’s (by now flagrant) designs on commandeering the Fed by stacking the Board.

Ironic insult to injury: This is all being undertaken in the name of restoring Fed credibility, a charade so cynical it could only emanate from a Trump administration.

Stating the obvious, the Journal wrote that, “Weaponizing the housing regulator won’t build confidence in America’s institutions or markets.” For her part, Cook’s standing firm. For now. “I have no intention of being bullied to step down from my position,” she said.