The Department of Justice under President Donald Trump is scrutinizing mortgage documents tied to Sen. Adam Schiff, possibly laying the groundwork for a criminal case against one of the president’s longest-standing political adversaries.
Cornell Law Professor William Jacobson told Fox News Digital that investigators are likely combing through Schiff’s decades-old real estate records, particularly focusing on a 2003 home purchase in Maryland, to determine whether the California Democrat misrepresented his primary residence to secure favorable mortgage terms.
“They’re going to follow the paper trail first,” Jacobson said. “There are no shrinking violets at the DOJ right now. They don’t want to lose a case against such a high-profile political opponent.”
Schiff is under fire for allegedly claiming two different properties — a Maryland house and a California condo — as his “primary residence” at overlapping times, allowing him to benefit from reduced mortgage rates and tax breaks. A May 2025 letter from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to the DOJ accuses Schiff of falsifying records related to the properties between 2003 and 2019.
According to the FHFA, Schiff secured a $610,000 mortgage from Fannie Mae at favorable terms for the Maryland property by claiming it was his primary residence, while also taking a homeowner’s exemption on a condo in Burbank, California. The Burbank exemption cut his property taxes by $7,000, a benefit reserved for primary residences. Records show Schiff reaffirmed the Maryland home as his primary residence multiple times while simultaneously benefiting from the California exemption.
Schiff’s team has insisted his principal home is in Burbank, and has dismissed the allegations as political payback. “This baseless attempt at political retribution won’t stop me from holding him accountable. Not by a long shot,” Schiff posted on X earlier this month. He also accused Trump of trying to distract from his own legal issues, referencing the Epstein files controversy.
President Trump reignited attention on the case in a Truth Social post last week, calling Schiff a “scam artist” and accusing him of mortgage fraud. “Adam Schiff said that his primary residence was in MARYLAND to get a cheaper mortgage and rip off America,” Trump wrote. “He has a lot of other things far worse than that.”
The White House followed up with remarks from Trump during a joint press event with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., where Trump said, “He defrauded banks and the federal government. But it’s very simple — it’s mortgage loan fraud.”
The FHFA, which oversees Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Bank System, referred Schiff to the DOJ earlier this year after reviewing financial records and media reports. A 2023 spokesperson for Schiff told CNN that the Burbank residence “is and will remain” his primary home. At the same time, Schiff was running for U.S. Senate — a race he ultimately won in 2024 after more than two decades in the House of Representatives.
The controversy over Schiff’s properties first broke into the mainstream in 2023, when CNN reported on the conflicting residency claims. Schiff’s campaign responded that both properties were considered primary residences “for loan purposes” because they were “occupied throughout the year,” not vacation homes.
Trump and Schiff have been bitter political rivals for years. Schiff led the first impeachment effort against Trump and was later censured by the House in 2023 over his promotion of the discredited Russia collusion narrative. Schiff also chaired the House Intelligence Committee from 2019 to 2023, where he had access to classified briefings tied to that investigation.
Now, the Trump administration’s Justice Department appears poised to flip the script. Days after Trump’s public comments, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard declassified documents allegedly tying the Obama administration to the origins of the Trump–Russia investigation, further fueling the administration’s claims of political bias.
Jacobson, who also runs the conservative legal blog Legal Insurrection, noted the political irony: “Democrats have spent the past decade using lawfare tactics to go after Donald Trump. Now that the tables have turned, they’ll find it tough to argue against this on moral grounds.”
He added, “Legally, the DOJ must still prove its case. But politically? Claims that Trump is weaponizing the DOJ will likely fall flat.”
The Department of Justice declined to comment on the investigation. Schiff’s office also did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
As the legal spotlight intensifies, observers expect more developments in the coming weeks. “Schiff is clearly in the DOJ’s sights now,” Jacobson said. “The only question is: how far will prosecutors take it?”
