‘Stunning curveball’: Reporter gobsmacked as FBI turns tables on Republican attack plans
The FBI turned the tables on a California realtor and Republican congressional candidate who was planning to drop an attack on a Democratic lawmaker but instead was grilled about her communication with Federal Housing Agency Director Bill Pulte and DOJ official Ed Martin, according to reports.
Christine Bish thought she was heading to Greenbelt, Maryland, to testify to a grand jury about Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and mortgage fraud allegations — but instead had an unexpected meeting, MS NOW anchor Ana Cabrera said Friday. The grand jury was hearing allegations that Pulte and Martin illegally shared sensitive information in the administration's mortgage fraud probes of Democratic figures and Trump enemies.
"...There is another stunning curveball at the DOJ. Two Trump allies who have spearheaded investigations into Trump's political adversaries, Bill Pulte and Ed Martin, are now themselves under investigation for their handling of those cases, according to two people familiar with the probe," Cabrera reported.
MS NOW justice and intel reporter Ken Dilanian, part of the team that broke the story, described the shock over the move and other potential allegations that have surfaced, especially the questions over Martin's involvement.
"[Martin is] basically spearheading many of the DOJ's inquiries into Donald Trump's political opponents. He's a darling of Donald Trump. Now, his own Justice Department is investigating him," Dilanian said.
Dilanian talked to Bish on Thursday after her surprise chat.
"She was summoned to the grand jury, subpoenaed, and she showed up yesterday in Greenbelt, Maryland," Dilanian reported. "Instead of testifying before the grand jury, she had an interview with a prosecutor, an FBI agent and others, and she told me that she thought she would be telling them about her take on Adam Schiff's mortgage. But instead, they were grilling her about her communications with Pulte, with Martin, and with two other men who she said spoke to her about these allegations, who don't actually work for the government. And so this is a huge deal. It's amazing to all of us who cover the Justice Department that Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, and Pam Bondi, the attorney general, have allowed this investigation to germinate from the Maryland grand jury."
The investigation is ongoing.
"It'll be interesting to see whether it persists now that it's become public. And Donald Trump surely is aware of it," Dilanian said.
Bondi and Blanche are also aware of the updates to this investigation, and that "nothing of this level at the Justice Department happens without the senior people at least being briefed on it. This is a huge deal. They know that. They knew that if it got out, it would be a massive, massive story. I mean, where else have we seen anything like this? One legal scholar, commenting on our reporting yesterday called this an extraordinary sign of life for the rule of law. We'll have to see whether that remains the case."