Prosecutors are hesitant to charge Trump foe Adam Schiff, sources say
By Katelyn Polantz, Donald Judd, CNN
(CNN) — Prosecutors from the Maryland US Attorney’s Office have been hesitant to proceed with charges against Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff, a political opponent of President Donald Trump, over allegations of mortgage fraud but the investigation remains ongoing, multiple sources tell CNN.
According to three people with knowledge of the prosecutors’ office, Ed Martin, one of the most polarizing Trump Justice Department officials, has been pushing for the investigation into possible mortgage fraud to lead to an indictment.
Recently, prosecutors discussed with the Deputy Attorney General’s Office next steps, including potentially reviewing more records, one person told CNN, and US Attorney for Maryland Kelly Hayes is attempting to keep Martin at bay, sources said.
NBC first reported the hesitancy of the prosecutors.
President Donald Trump declined to weigh in on the Schiff matter on Thursday, telling reporters, “I hope it’s true, but I don’t know anything.”
“You know, I’m not going to comment on that – I would just say Adam Schiff is one of the lowest forms of scum I’ve ever dealt with in politics,” Trump said at the White House. “He’s a horrible human being, very dishonest person. I have no idea what’s going on. You tell me that he’s going to be indicted. I don’t know.””
Schiff has been a target of Trump’s ire since leading the House’s investigations into the president during his first term, first as the top Democrat on the intelligence committee’s probe into Russian election interference and then as the lead investigator of the withholding of Ukraine aid that led to the president’s first impeachment.
Last month, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to direct Attorney General Pam Bondi to aggressively target some of his political opponents, writing, “Pam: I have reviewed over 30 statements and posts saying that, essentially, ‘same old story as last time, all talk, no action. Nothing is being done. What about Comey, Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff, Leticia??? They’re all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done.”
CNN later reported the directive was meant to be a private message to Bondi.
Asked about the reports surrounding a Schiff probe Thursday, Bondi, who joined Trump for the roundtable, told reporters, “We’re not going to comment on any grand jury that’s open. We can’t legally.”
Since that message was sent, Trump’s handpicked interim US Attorney in Eastern Virginia, Lindsey Halligan, has secured grand jury indictments of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Both have denied any wrongdoing.
An attorney for Schiff didn’t respond to requests for comment on Thursday.
The-CNN-Wire
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