The disclosure of the weekend by Special Attorney Ed Martin that the Department of Justice is “spinning like a top” over criminal investigations into New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, and Senator Adam Schiff — along with an in-person site survey Mr. Martin made to Ms. James’s Brooklyn block — suggests a seriousness of purpose at Main Justice.
Mr. Martin, who was formerly President Trump’s nominee for United States attorney for the District of Columbia, made those comments on Fox News over the weekend. Mr. Martin now leads the “Weaponization Working Group” convened by Attorney General Pam Bondi to “identify instances where a department’s or agency’s conduct appears to have been designed to achieve political objectives or other improper aims rather than pursuing justice.”
Ms. Bondi has also named Mr. Martin, a former head of the Missouri GOP and an organizer of “Stop the Steal” rallies who also serves as the United States pardon attorney, as a “special attorney” to spearhead mortgage fraud investigations into Ms. James and Mr. Schiff, regarding their personal real estate affairs. That makes Mr. Martin the point person for the fate of the criminal referrals against the two high-profile Democrats that were made by the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, William Pulte.
Mr. Pulte, an heir to the Pulte Homes fortune, assembled dossiers of evidence against the two prominent Democrats. The decision whether to seek criminal charges will be made by Ms. Bondi — and perhaps by the White House. Ms. James is accused of listing a modest Norfolk, Virginia, house as her primary residence, misstating the number of units in a Brooklyn condominium, and listing her father as her husband on a mortgage application — all for favorable loan terms.
On Sunday Mr. Martin was spotted at Clinton Hill, the historic Brooklyn neighborhood where Ms. James is accused of listing a five-unit rental brownstone she owns — a large townhouse divided into apartments — as possessing only four units. The Post reports that when Mr. Martin, attired in a beige trenchcoat, was approached by a neighborhood resident the special attorney explained that he was “just happy to be on a block looking at houses. … I’m just looking at houses, interesting houses. It’s an important house.”
Ms. James, through her lawyer, Abbe Lowell — whose contacts include high-profile clients such as Jared Kushner and Hunter Biden — denies the accusations. Mr. Lowell contends that the emerging case against his client is “threadbare” and “cherrypicked” and amounts to a “revenge tour” against New York’s top prosecutor. Ms. James in September 2023 secured a fraud verdict against Mr. Trump, his business, and his two adult sons that now stands at more than $500 million.
That judgement was the culmination of what Ms. James called, during her campaign for attorney general, her intention to “shine a light” on Mr. Trump’s business practices. She also called him an “illegitimate president” and an “embarrassment.” The judge in the fraud case, Arthur Engoron, repeatedly clashed with Mr. Trump and eventually issued a gag order against him.
Judge Engoron found evidence of “persistent” fraud relating to the over-valuation of properties like Mar-a-Lago that “shocked the conscience.” Mr. Trump called him a “very partisan judge.” Judge Engoron’s initial finding of guilt was made without a trial, and the trial that followed was only to determine penalties.
Mr. Trump appealed that verdict, and the appellate court appeared skeptical of Judge Engoron’s ruling. One ventured that the “immense penalty in this case is troubling” and another likened the underlying facts to a garden variety “commercial dispute,” noting that none of the lenders involved have expressed displeasure. The appeals court has, perplexingly, yet to hand down a verdict — more than 300 days after oral arguments were aired.
In a dash of irony, the potential criminal case against Ms. James involves real estate fraud similar to the civil charges she brought against the Trumps. Mr. Trump, just as Ms. James is doing now, made accusations of cherry-picking and biased prosecution.
The case against Mr. Schiff, the Californian who led the first impeachment push against Mr. Trump, is similar in substance to the brief against Ms. James. The criminal referral of the lawmaker also comes from Mr. Pulte, and will likewise be shepherded by Mr. Martin. Mr. Schiff is being represented by Preet Bharara, who once served as the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York and is now a prolific press presence on the left.
Mr. Pulte alleges that Mr. Schiff has for more than a decade listed two homes on opposite coasts as his primary residence — one a small one-bedroom condominium at Burbank and one at Potomac. Mr. Trump noted on Truth Social that Mr. Schiff was trying to “get a cheaper mortgage and rip off America.” It appears, though, that Mr. Schiff last applied for a mortgage in 2012. That could pose a problem for prosecutors, as the fraud crimes that the DOJ is mulling usually have a 10 year statute of limitations.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
