On Tuesday morning, President Donald Trump accused former impeachment leader Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif) of committing mortgage fraud.
“I have always suspected Shifty Adam Shiff (sic) was a scam artist,” Trump wrote. He then claimed that Fannie Mae’s Financial Crimes Division had determined that Schiff had improperly declared a Maryland home as his primary residence to secure better mortgage terms, despite representing California in Congress.
“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,” Trump alleged, before outlining what he described as a fraudulent timeline beginning in 2009 and ending in 2020.
According to Trump’s post, the alleged “fraud” began on February 6, 2009, with the refinancing of a property in Maryland, and continued “through multiple transactions” until October 13, 2020, when the property was finally “correctly designated as a second home.” He concluded the post with a familiar refrain: “Crooked Adam Schiff (now a Senator) needs to be brought to justice.”
As of Tuesday morning, no independent confirmation of such an investigation has been reported.
Schiff’s ownership of the Maryland property was reported on during his Senate campaign by CNN, which at the time reported that the then-House member wasn’t likely to face any legal repercussions because the law at issue is ambiguous when it comes to the definition of a primary residence.
However, Schiff’s spokesperson during the campaign and his current press secretary, told CNN last year that he has claimed both his properties as primary residences for mortgage purposes “because they are both occupied throughout the year and to distinguish them from a vacation property.”
The animosity between Trump and Schiff has been swirling for year and dates back to at least 2017, when the California lawmaker emerged as one of Trump’s most vocal critics during the House Intelligence Committee’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Schiff later served as the lead impeachment manager during Trump’s first impeachment trial in 2020, drawing attacks from the former president, who routinely referred to him as “Pencil Neck” and “Shifty Schiff.”
Quite to the contrary, determining one’s “primary residence” is not an ambiguous matter in the least. There are several simple indicia of “primary residence” and Shift’s background as an attorney entirely nullifies any “defense” on that ground. He is, and always has been, a mean spirited crooked little man whom America would have been far better off without.
As a former Capitol Hill staffer, everyone on Capitol Hill knows your primary residence is maintained in the state you represent, not where a Member of Congress lives in D.C., northern Virginia or Maryland. One is not allowed to claim two primary residences. Seems Shifty Schiff has something in common with another crook, NY Attorney General Letitia James, who evidently committed mortgage fraud for years, claiming that a house she bought in Virginia was her primary residence and in New York, saying her father was her husband to get a better mortgage rate. The irony of this, when “Tish” falsely accused Trump of over-valuing his properties to get better lending rates (banks do their own real estate valuations so Tish’s claim was bogus). Democrats seem to commit real crimes while accusing Trump of manufactured ones. Let’s hope neither Tish nor Schiff escape without due punishment.
Same crap that the blob AG James pulled years ago. Have you ever seen an honest Dem, cause I haven’t.