WATCH: Adam Schiff silent after Trump accused him of mortgage fraud
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Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California refused to answer repeated questions from Fox News Digital about his alleged mortgage fraud, which President Donald Trump has accused him of committing over 10 years.
The long-time Trump critic, who as a congressman was instrumental in the House of Representatives’ first and second impeachments during Trump’s first term, was accused by the president of committing fraud to obtain lower rates on a second home in Maryland.
Trump alleged that Schiff listed a Maryland property as his primary residence in 2009 to obtain a lower mortgage rate, despite being a congressman and then a senator representing California.
Schiff has called the accusations “baseless.”
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However, Schiff ignored a Fox News Digital reporter who asked him, “Do you have a response to Trump saying you’re guilty of mortgage fraud?”
The Fox News Digital reporter later asked Schiff, “Why did you decide to make your primary residence Maryland for ten years, for a decade, not California? Any comment on Trump accusing you of committing mortgage fraud, sir? Any response?”
Schiff ignored the questions, simply responding, “Have a nice day.”
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Trump posted his allegations on Truth Social on Tuesday morning.
“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 did not provide any evidence of the alleged fraud.
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When asked about the accusations later on Tuesday, Trump appeared to soften on the specific accusation.
“I don’t know about the individual charge, if that even happened, but Adam Schiff is a serious lowlife,” Trump said.
Schiff was not barred from listing the Maryland homes as his primary residence during his term in Congress, since the Constitution only requires that he be an “inhabitant” of California at the time of his election, not throughout his entire service.
However, Schiff cited two residences, one in California and one in Maryland, as his “principal residence” on multiple mortgage and election forms dating back to 2003, Just the News reported in October.
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In at least three cases — in 2009, 2011 and 2013 — Schiff refinanced his Maryland home and declared it his “principal residence,” while also listing his Burbank, California condo as his primary residence in separate financing documents, the outlet reported. He then changed the notations on his Maryland mortgage to be a secondary residence.
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The pattern was first detected by Christine Bish, a Sacramento-based real estate investigator who ran for Congress as a Republican last year. She filed an ethics complaint against Schiff in Congress.
Schiff said Trump’s comments were the latest attempt at political retaliation against his perceived enemies and said it would not distract 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.”