Attorney General Pam Bondi has named Ed Martin special attorney to investigate mortgage fraud allegations against Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James and Democratic California Sen. Adam Schiff, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The Federal Housing Agency (FHFA) referred James in April to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for allegedly falsifying mortgage documents to obtain more favorable loan terms.
FHFA Director Bill Pulte likewise referred Schiff to the DOJ in May for allegedly falsifying documents to secure more favorable terms on a Maryland property.
A spokesperson for Schiff told CNN in 2023 that his properties in California and Maryland were both claimed as primary residences “for loan purposes because they are both occupied throughout the year and to distinguish them from a vacation property.”
“The allegations against Senator Schiff are transparently false, stale, and long debunked,” Schiff’s attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement shared with the DCNF. “Now Ed Martin, the most brazenly partisan and politically compromised person possible for the task, has been picked to investigate a political adversary.”
Bharara said that the bias is “glaring.”
“Mr. Martin’s nomination to be U.S. Attorney of the District of Columbia was derailed not only by his partisanship and unfitness, but also by the hold Senator Schiff appropriately placed on the nomination,” he said. “Mr. Martin is a January 6-defending lawyer who has repeatedly pursued baseless and politically-motivated investigations to fulfill demands to investigate and prosecute perceived enemies. Any supposed investigation led by him would be the very definition of weaponization of the justice process.”
Separately, James was hit with subpoenas in New York on Friday related to her civil fraud case against President Donald Trump and her case against the National Rifle Association, according to several reports.
Special attorneys can conduct legal proceedings, such as grand jury proceedings, in districts where they do not reside. Trump previously named Martin as director of the DOJ’s Weaponization Working Group in May after pulling his nomination for U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.
James’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Featured Image Media Credit: Flickr/Gage Skidmore)
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