Overview

• Attorney General Pam Bondi named Ed Martin, former interim U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., as special prosecutor in mortgage fraud investigations of Senator Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
• FHFA Director Bill Pulte sent criminal referrals in April against James and in May against Schiff, alleging they falsified property records and bank documents to secure favorable loan terms.
• Separate grand juries in the Eastern District of Virginia and in Maryland have begun weighing potential indictments on charges including mortgage, bank and wire fraud.
• Both James and Schiff have denied wrongdoing and labeled the investigations politically motivated.
• Martin’s authority to conduct grand jury investigations and prosecutions beyond standard district boundaries, combined with his tenure leading the DOJ’s Weaponization Working Group, has fueled debate over partisan influence in the probes.