California Senator and Donald Trump’s long-time nemesis, Adam Schiff, has brushed off the president’s suggestion that he be prisoned over alleged mortgage fraud.
Trump pulled out one of his trademark nicknames on Sunday by saying in a Truth Social post that Adam “Shifty” Schiff had “falsified Loan Documents” and that he was in “BIG TROUBLE” and should “pay the price of prison.”
It came after a July 15 post by Trump labelling Schiff a “scam artist” who “needs to be brought to justice.” He referenced the fact that Schiff owns a home in Maryland in addition to a home in California and accused him of lying about his primary residence.
Schiff immediately clapped back on Twitter, calling Trump’s accusations “a bit of a letdown.”
Trump claimed in his first post that investigators from Fannie Mae had opened a potential fraud investigation into Schiff. A memo from Fannie Mae investigators reviewed by the Los Angeles Times did find that Schiff alternated between listing his primary residence as being in Maryland and California, creating a “sustained pattern of possible occupancy misrepresentation” between 2009 and 2020.
However, the investigators did not use the word “fraud,” and they did not conclude whether Schiff had committed a crime.
Schiff is a longtime thorn in Trump’s side, clashing with the president over his businesses, political appointees, and, most recently, his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
Schiff was a leading figure in both of Trump’s impeachment trials, and he recently introduced legislation attempting to restrict politicians’ ability to profit off their own digital currencies—a move clearly targeted at Trump’s recent foray into the crypto world.
Trump, for his part, has called Schiff “one of the sleaziest politicians in history” and has referred to him at various points as a “crook.” He has bestowed many nicknames on the California senator including “watermelon head,” “little Adam Schitt” and “little pencil neck Adam Schiff.”
Schiff was one of nine people to receive a pre-emptive pardon from President Joe Biden for their role in the January 6 Committee, which he joined when he was a member of the House. Trump has claimed that those pardons are “void,” which Schiff has said is baseless.
A spokesperson for Schiff did not respond to an immediate request for comment.
