A former federal prosecutor said on Thursday that President Donald Trump's administration is "not even pretending" to provide equal protection under the law with its mortgage fraud investigations into Trump's opponents.
The Trump administration has publicly announced that they are investigating Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA), Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, and New York's Democratic Attorney General Letitia James for alleged mortgage fraud. Trump has also had standoffs with each of the people being investigated.
Schiff was one of the Democratic senators leading the impeachment proceedings against Trump during his first term. Cook has voted against raising interest rates, as Trump protests. James successfully prosecuted Trump for committing fraud while covering up hush money payments he made to a porn star during the 2016 election cycle.
Mimi Rocah, a former federal prosecutor, joined CNN's "Erin Burnett OutFront" to discuss the investigations.
"They are not even pretending like there is equal protection under the law," Rocha said.
Rocah added that mortgage fraud is a common crime charged by U.S. attorneys, but not the kind that the Trump administration is alleging. The Trump administration has said it is looking at whether people purchased properties with multiple primary residence mortgages.
Rocah said that the level of detail is almost "unheard of" for a federal investigation.
She was also stunned by the obviousness of the Trump administration's move to "single out" Trump's political opponents in these investigations.
"These people...have legitimate claims of vindictive prosecution," Rocah said.
