California Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff is under federal criminal investigation for alleged mortgage fraud, a member of President Donald Trump’s administration has told Fox News.
Fox anchor Laura Ingraham revealed the development on The Ingraham Angle on Tuesday evening, reporting that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland was investigating Schiff after the Federal Housing Finance Agency sent a criminal referral to the Justice Department in May, alleging the senator had falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable terms from lenders.
The complaint concerned Schiff listing two different properties as his primary residence at other times: one in his district in Burbank, California, and one in Montgomery County, Maryland, for his family’s use when Congress is in session.
FHFA Director William Pulte wrote in his letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche this spring: “Based on media reports, Mr Adam B Schiff has, in multiple instances, falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, impacting payments from 2003-2019 for a Potomac, Maryland-based property.
“As regulator of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks, we take very seriously allegations of mortgage fraud or other criminal activity. Such misconduct jeopardizes the safety and soundness of FHFA’s regulated entities and the security and stability of the U.S. mortgage market.”
Pulte later said he had subsequently received a memo from Fannie Mae’s financial crimes investigations unit concluding that Schiff had engaged in “a sustained pattern of possible occupancy misrepresentation” on five loans, according to Fox.
The senator’s press secretary, Marisol Samayoa, previously told CNN that her boss has claimed both of his homes as his primary residence throughout his political career for mortgage purposes “because they are both occupied throughout the year and to distinguish them from a vacation property.”
Trump and Schiff have had issues for years. As chair of the House Intelligence Committee, Schiff led the first impeachment push against Trump during his first term. Last month, Trump said in a Truth Social post that Schiff was in “Big Trouble” and should be sent to prison.
“Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff is in BIG TROUBLE! He falsified Loan Documents. He once said my son would go to prison on a SCAM that Schiff, along with other Crooked Dems, illegally ‘manufactured’ in order to stage an actual coup,” the president wrote.
“My son did nothing wrong, knew nothing about the fictional story. It was an American Tragedy! Now Shifty should pay the price of prison for a real crime, not one made up by the corrupt accusers!”
Before that, Trump trailed the tip-off from Fannie Mae about Schiff’s alleged misconduct and added with glee: “I always knew Adam Schiff was a crooked.”
The president’s own business, the Trump Organization, was sued by New York Attorney Letitia James in September 2022 for allegedly misrepresenting its assets to obtain more generous terms from lenders, which led to a civil court case that concluded with the presiding judge ruling in February 2024 that the company was liable to pay back $354.8 million in ill-gotten gains, a verdict it is appealing.
For his part, Schiff retaliated to Trump’s taunts on X by denying any wrongdoing and commenting: “Since I led his first impeachment, Trump has repeatedly called for me to be arrested for treason. So in a way, I guess this is a bit of a letdown. And this baseless attempt at political retribution won’t stop me from holding him accountable. Not by a long shot.
“This is just Donald Trump’s latest attempt at political retaliation against his perceived enemies. So it is not a surprise, only how weak this false allegation turns out to be. And much as Trump may hope, this smear will not distract from his Epstein files problem.”
The senator offered a further response when he appeared soon after on CBS’s recently-cancelled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and said that Trump’s regular threats to his enemies–from law firms and universities to illegal immigrants-are attempts to create a “climate of fear” and “frighten people into submission.”
Speaking to the camera to address the president directly, Schiff continued: “Donald, p*** off. But, before you do, release the Epstein files.”
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