Justice Department is examining handling of mortgage fraud investigation into Sen. Adam Schiff

WASHINGTON– The Justice Department is examining how the mortgage fraud investigation into Sen. Adam Schiff was conducted, including the potential involvement of people who claimed to be acting at the behest or direction of two Trump administration officials who pushed the investigation into the California Democrat, according to a document reviewed by The Associated Press.

Federal authorities involved in the Schiff investigation in Maryland on Thursday questioned a Republican congressional candidate who promoted mortgage fraud allegations against the lawmaker and asked her about any communications she may have had with Justice Department official Ed Martin and Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte. The interview took place after the woman received a subpoena seeking information about communications she may have had with people claiming to work under Pulte and Martin.

Christine Bish, a real estate agent running for a congressional seat in California, told the AP she was willing to talk to investigators about her own years-long effort to draw attention to mortgages held by Schiff, who owns homes in California and Maryland. But authorities instead focused on potential interactions she had with Pulte and Martin, Bish said.

“I expected to be asked questions, lots of questions, about: ‘How did you end up investigating Adam Schiff and what were your conclusions?’ » said Bish. “What they wanted to know was if I was in communication with Ed Martin or director Pulte – and I wasn’t.”

Bish said she was still trying to walk back Schiff’s allegations, but that officials were “trying, in my opinion, to investigate the investigators.”

The revelation that authorities are turning their attention to the handling of the Schiff investigation is likely to bring new scrutiny to Pulte and Martin’s already criticized attempt to investigate Trump’s political enemies for mortgage fraud.

Their efforts were marred by missteps, including exaggerated claims that were easily refuted, as well as the revelation that ethics officials at the Pulte-led agency were investigating whether he and his allies improperly accessed the mortgage data of those he accused of fraud.

In recent months, Bish was contacted several times by Robert Bowes, who worked in the first Trump administration and claimed to work for Pulte, according to a person familiar with the conversations who spoke on condition of anonymity due to fears of retaliation.

Bowes, who is listed on the subpoena, asked Bish to investigate several people’s mortgages, the person said. On one occasion, Bowes asked Bish to serve as a source for a national media outlet that he believed was working on a negative story about mortgages owned by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, the person said.

Bowes did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.

Pulte did not respond to a message seeking comment. A message seeking comment was also left with a spokesperson for Martin. The Justice Department declined to comment.

In August, the department named Martin a special prosecutor to help lead investigations into Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Prosecutors separately issued subpoenas in a mortgage fraud investigation against Lisa Cook, the Federal Reserve governor whom Trump sought to fire. Last week, Pulte also referenced Rep. Eric. Swalwell, a California Democrat, to the Justice Department for investigation.

All four deny the allegations.

The investigation into Schiff is being led by Maryland prosecutors, although the status of the investigation is unclear. The investigation into James resulted in criminal charges last month in Virginia. She has pleaded not guilty, and in a filing this week, her lawyers denounced what they called “outrageous government conduct” that resulted in her indictment.

Bish told the AP that she had already submitted her work on Schiff to congressional ethics officials, but that nothing came of it. After Pulte appealed for tips on mortgage fraud, she resubmitted her research to the agency he heads as well as the FBI. Pulte called her and left a message asking for more information, she said, but Bish said she never had a conversation with him.

The subpoena Bish received concerns any communications she may have had with Pulte or anyone claiming to work at her “request,” including anyone claiming to be Pulte’s chief of staff. It is also seeking information about communications with anyone “purporting to work for or at the direction” of the Justice Department or “anyone purporting to act at the direction or at the direction of” Martin.

Martin, who is also director of the Justice Department’s “Arms Task Force,” was tapped to help with mortgage fraud investigations after his appointment as top federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C., was revoked amid bipartisan concerns about his modest legal background, divisive policies and support for the Jan. 6 riots.

Since arriving in Trump’s Washington, Pulte has drawn attention to the usually reserved Federal Housing Finance Agency that he oversees. The 37-year-old scion of a home-building fortune sought to ingratiate himself with Trump by publicly attacking some of the president’s longtime political antagonists.

But in recent weeks he has made a series of high-profile mistakes.

Earlier this month, he persuaded Trump of the appeal of a 50-year mortgage as a way to increase home buying and construction, a proposal that was widely criticized because it would significantly increase the overall price of a loan.

Pulte, who named himself chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, also shook the real estate industry by purging ethics officers and top executives at the two government-sponsored lending giants, which hold billions of dollars in assets.

Some of those fired were investigating whether Pulte and his allies used nonpublic mortgage data as the basis for his criminal prosecution of Schiff and others. Other top Fannie Mae executives were forced out last month after expressing concern that a Pulte confidant, acting on his behalf, had shared confidential pricing data with Freddie Mac, a major competitor.

In a letter this week to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Father Lowell, attorney for James and Cook, suggested that Pulte may be the one to be investigated.

“These improprieties by Director Pulte may warrant examination of his conduct by your agency or others in government,” Lowell wrote. “I’m reporting them because they compromise his criminal credentials.”