President Donald Trump launched an apparently random attack Tuesday that he has "learned" some nefarious information about Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) that should lead to his prosecution.
Seemingly out of the blue, Trump posted on Truth Social, "I have always suspected Shifty Adam Schiff was a scam artist. And now I learn that Fannie Mae’s Financial Crimes Division have concluded that Adam Schiff has engaged in a sustained pattern of possible Mortgage Fraud."
In announcing the "possible mortgage fraud," Trump offered no proof to back up his claims.
Trump's post continued, "Adam Schiff said that his primary residence was in MARYLAND to get a cheaper mortgage and rip off America, when he must LIVE in CALIFORNIA because he was a Congressman from CALIFORNIA. I always knew Adam Schiff was a Crook. The FRAUD began with the refinance of his Maryland property on February 6, 2009, and continued through multiple transactions until the Maryland property was correctly designated as a second home on October 13, 2020. Mortgage Fraud is very serious, and CROOKED Adam Schiff (now a Senator) needs to be brought to justice."
It's an old argument brought to light in 2023 by CNN's KFile. A Schiff spokesperson said at that time that his primary residence is in Burbank, CA, while he keeps a second home in the Washington, D.C., area "to spend more time with his children while doing his job.”
The U.S. Constitution says that "members of Congress must have an 'inhabitancy in the state at the time elected' – a fairly vague requirement," according to KFile. A professor of political science at the University of Maryland told KFile that “On the merits, technically there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it."
At the time, when Schiff was running for Senate, the report warned, "the dual residency could still complicate his run for the Senate in the state’s competitive primary and present a political problem." That didn't seem to happen, and Schiff was sworn in to the Senate in Dec. 2024.
Trump offered no new details from the 2023 report.
Trump has repeatedly attacked Schiff, with particular vitriol over his role in the first Trump impeachment proceedings. Trump has called for Schiff's prosecution, censure, and removal from Congress, portraying him as a primary political enemy who led what Trump characterized as a "witch hunt" against his administration.
