Not that Republicans haven’t had reasons to loathe Rep. Adam Schiff for years now — particularly over his dissimulation regarding the Russiagate hoax — but he’s the perfect kind of Democrat for California. That’s why he’s running for the Senate seat that belonged to Dianne Feinstein until her death in September.
If only he, you know, actually lived there.
According to a CNN report Thursday, mortgage records show Schiff’s primary residence is a 3,420-square-foot property in the D.C. suburb of Potomac, Maryland.
However, for tax purposes, he’s claimed his 650-square-foot condo in the Los Angeles suburb of Burbank as his primary residence — a convenient way to soften the $7,000 he doles out to the government.
CNN found that “a review of past comments, pictures shared on his public social media, and records indicate Schiff makes his full-time home in Maryland.”
“Deed records show Schiff, who was elected to Congress in 2000, designated the Maryland home as his primary residence in 2003. In 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012 Schiff refinanced his mortgage and again indicated it was his primary residence,” it reported.
“Los Angeles County deed records for Schiff’s Burbank condo, purchased in 2009, were notarized in Maryland. On one page of the deed, the state: California and the county: Los Angeles are crossed out and Maryland and Montgomery County are written in. The records also list Schiff’s Maryland home as an address the records are being returned to.”
There’s not necessarily anything illegal about this, given that the language of the homeowner’s exemption under California law is vague enough that Schiff is safe. Furthermore, it also won’t represent an impediment to him getting on the ballot.
“On the merits, technically there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it,” Candace Turitto, a professor of political science at the University of Maryland, told CNN, with the outlet noting that the Constitution maintains only that the candidate must have an “inhabitancy in the state at the time elected.”
Optically, however, it might look bad to Californians — particularly given that Schiff is in a close race with three high-profile candidates involved.
“It might not mean anything to voters,” Turitto said, “but if one of these candidates can turn it into a larger argument about the quality of representation or integrity that Adam Schiff will display as a senator, it might work to create daylight in an otherwise tight primary campaign.”
Is @AdamSchiff’s primary residence really California, or is it Maryland?
It depends on which claim most financially benefits him.
The candidate for California’s Senate seat often claims Maryland, and it seems clear that’s where he really lives.https://t.co/cI0bRXlC81 pic.twitter.com/hBnzkIbh23
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) November 2, 2023
However, Schiff’s campaign insists that he’s a Californian through and through. His website makes no mention of his Maryland property, and his bio says this: “Settled in Burbank, CA, Adam and his wife Eve are the proud parents of daughter Alexa, age 13, and son Elijah, age 10.”
His campaign, naturally, says there’s an explanation for this.
“Adam’s primary residence is Burbank, California, and will remain so when he wins the Senate seat,” Marisol Samayoa, a spokeswoman for the Schiff campaign, told CNN.
“As Adam has discussed openly many times over the years, including in his recent New York Times best-selling book, he and Eve made the difficult decision to move their family to the D.C. area to spend more time with his children while doing his job,” Samayoa said.
As for why both were claimed as primary residences? Loan purposes, of course.
“Adam’s California and Maryland addresses have been listed as primary residences for loan purposes because they are both occupied throughout the year and to distinguish them from a vacation property.”
Now, this isn’t an uncommon problem. In fact, the current holder of the seat — Sen. Laphonza Butler — also maintained in her bio that she was a resident of Maryland until she was appointed to replace Feinstein. (That bit of info was later scrubbed from the profile for obvious reasons.)
It appears EMILY’s list has removed the final line in Laphonza Butler’s bio that states she lives in Maryland. pic.twitter.com/6wYYYJEqoE
— Ashley Zavala (@ZavalaA) October 2, 2023
That said, Butler isn’t running to replace Feinstein, whereas Schiff is one of three high-profile Democrats duking it out for the seat, along with California Reps. Katie Porter and Barbara Lee.
For all we know, they could have the same issue, too: Many lawmakers decide that, once they’ve been elected by their district, they have no obligation to stay there, instead moving to Washington or its suburbs in order to better secure their position in the Beltway swamp.
However, Californians deserve better than this. In particular, they deserve a Californian.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
