Trump’s Argument for Firing Lisa Cook Lies in Tatters
It was evident from the start that this case was a dog. About the Virginia property, James had emailed her mortgage broker, “This property WILL NOT be my primary residence,” and on another form, when asked whether it was her primary residence, James checked “NO.” How do you get an indictment out of that? You don’t, and Justice Department prosecutors in Virginia’s Eastern District who’ve wasted the past five months investigating the case know it, according to CNN and ABC News. But their inaction prompted Pulte (according to ABC News) to urge Trump to fire their boss, U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert, and there’s every reason to believe that vindictive, brainless prick will do so.
Pulte is the instigator of the mortgage-fraud witch hunt, having referred Schiff, James, and Cook to the Justice Department in order to ingratiate himself with Trump. I suggested last week that it was unlikely Pulte dug up his rival Bessent’s mortgage history to share with Trump, but that was before we knew any such history existed. Now it seems more plausible that this explains why Bessent told Pulte, “I’m gonna punch you in your fucking face.” Everybody, it seems, wants to punch Pulte in his fucking face. Schiff’s attorney, Preet Bharara, suggested in a letter to the Justice Department last spring that it investigate “Mr. Pulte’s role in this sordid effort,” and while that seems unlikely at the moment, Pulte’s got “fall guy” written all over him.
Indeed, the only tangible punishment Pulte’s mortgage fraud inquisition has thus far inflicted is against his own father and stepmother. In digging up examples of people who, like Cook, claimed two primary residences in mortgage documents, Reuters identified Mark and Julie Pulte. But in their case, the offense was much more serious because, according to Reuters, they did it not on mortgage documents but on tax forms by claiming homestead deductions in both Bloomfield Township, Michigan, and Boca Raton, Florida. “It’s not something that either state generally lets you get away with,” Lisa Bender, a real estate agent who’s worked in both jurisdictions, told Reuters. Bender was right. Reuters reported this week that Bloomfield Township just socked Mark and Julie for back taxes. Now maybe they want to punch Pulte in his fucking face too.
