Adam Schiff: a stalled mortgage-fraud probe, and a public demand to prosecute

No charges filed; NBC reports the case has 'not yielded sufficient evidence to present to a federal grand jury'; DOJ is separately examining how the Schiff probe itself was handled

AG Bondi assigned then-Pardon Attorney Ed Martin to investigate Sen. Adam Schiff, lead House impeachment manager in Trump's first impeachment, over alleged mortgage and insurance fraud on a Maryland property, following a referral from FHFA Director William Pulte using the same 'claimed two primary residences' theory applied to Letitia James (WLE-02) and Lisa Cook (WLE-09). With the probe already under way, Trump in a September 2025 public post named Schiff alongside Comey and James and demanded action.

By late October 2025, NBC News reported the investigation had stalled: assistant US attorneys in the Eastern District of Virginia who examined the possibility of charging Schiff explained their hesitations to Justice Department leadership, and the case had not produced evidence sufficient to bring before a federal grand jury. Schiff has repeatedly and publicly denied wrongdoing.

By January 2026, TIME reported DOJ was separately investigating the handling of the Schiff probe itself, including the potential involvement of people impersonating federal agents and whether grand jury materials from the parallel James case had been illegally shared outside authorized channels, meaning the investigation into Schiff had itself become the subject of an internal integrity question.

Documented

Investigation opened, has not yielded grand-jury-ready evidence; no charges filed

Referral and investigation opened mid-2025; publicly stalled as of 2025-10; DOJ internally reviewing the probe's own conduct as of 2026-01