President Donald Trump unleashed a harsh attack on Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., on Tuesday morning, reiterating 2024 allegations that Schiff committed mortgage fraud by lying about his principal address for over a decade, which the lawmaker rejects.In a Truth Social post, Trump called Schiff a “scam artist” and claimed he obtained a mortgage for a Maryland home in 2009 but only designated it as a second home in 2020 as part of a ruse to get better rates and terms from the company, which has been in federal conservatorship since the 2008 financial crisis.
The president stated that Fannie Mae’s Financial Crimes Division had discovered the suspected wrongdoing. Schiff purchased the Maryland property while serving in Congress in 2009, and he became a senator the following January. Schiff described the claims as “baseless.”
“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,” Trump wrote.
“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,” Trump wrote. He did not provide any evidence of the alleged fraud.
When asked about the accusations later Tuesday, Trump appeared to soften the specific allegation.
“I don’t know about the individual charge, if that even happened, but Adam Schiff is a serious lowlife,” Trump said.
Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked, “When you said that you want Adam Schiff brought to justice, what does that mean?”
Trump responded, “I’d love to see him brought to justice.”
Schiff was not prohibited from identifying his Maryland house as his principal residence during his stint in Congress, because the Constitution only required him to be a “inhabitant” of California at the time of his election, not for his whole tenure.
Schiff, however, identified two properties, one in California and one in Maryland, as his “principal residence” on several mortgage and election papers dating back to 2003, Just the News reported in October.
Schiff refinanced his Maryland property in at least three situations — in 2009, 2011, and 2013 — and labeled it his “principal residence,” while also putting his Burbank, California apartment as his primary address in separate financing paperwork, according to the source. He subsequently updated the note on his Maryland mortgage to reflect a secondary residence.
The trend was discovered by Christine Bish, a Sacramento-based real estate detective who campaigned for Congress as a Republican last year. She brought an ethics complaint against Schiff before Congress.
Schiff said Trump’s remarks were the latest effort at political vengeance against his perceived adversaries, and that they would not deflect from “his Epstein files problem.”
“Since I led his first impeachment, Trump has repeatedly called for me to be arrested for treason,” Schiff wrote on X. “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.”
A spokesperson for Schiff said that the accusations have been debunked.
“The lenders who provided the mortgages for both homes were well aware of then-Representative Schiff’s Congressional service and of his intended year-round use of both homes, neither of which were vacation homes,” the spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “He has always been completely transparent about this.”
The spokesperson did not say whether the Maryland home was designated as a primary residence. Fannie Mae stated that it would not comment on the claims.
Schiff responded later Tuesday via video, calling the president’s accusations “baseless” and “without merit.”
