Pulte refuses to say where he got Lisa Cook mortgage fraud ‘tip’

Bill Pulte, President Donald Trump’s housing finance chief, on Thursday repeatedly declined to offer any details about where he got the “tip” that led him to accuse Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook of mortgage fraud.

“I’m not going to explain our sources and methods, where we get tips from, who are whistleblowers,” Pulte said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

“It would be reckless for me to do that,” he said.

That refusal came after CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin noted that Pulte’s targeting of Cook — in multiple criminal referrals to the Department of Justice and in a torrent of aggressive social media posts — is creating the perception of “political weaponization.”

“If, for example, the tip came from inside the administration, or came from even inside your agency, with somebody who works for you … then that creates the perception issue,” Sorkin said, adding that shedding light on the tipster could help Pulte explain his actions.

But Pulte bristled at the question. “I don’t need you to help me explain things, Andrew,” he replied.

This is breaking news. Please refresh for updates.