Federal authorities are turning their gaze inward as the Justice Department examines the handling of a high-profile mortgage fraud investigation targeting Senator Adam Schiff, a prominent Democrat from California. The probe, which has drawn in a cast of political operatives, agency heads, and even a sitting member of Congress, now centers as much on the investigators themselves as on the original allegations of wrongdoing. The developments, reported by Associated Press, CNN, and Reuters, have injected fresh uncertainty into an already contentious chapter of political and legal maneuvering in Washington.
On November 20, 2025, federal prosecutors in Maryland interviewed Christine Bish, a Republican congressional candidate and real estate agent from California, who for years has been vocal about her independent investigation into mortgages held by Schiff. Bish, who had anticipated a grilling about her findings on Schiff’s property dealings, was instead pressed about her communications with Ed Martin, a Justice Department official, and Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). Bish recounted to Associated Press, “I expected to be asked questions, a lot of questions, about, ‘How did you come about investigating Adam Schiff and what were your findings?’ What they wanted to know was if I was in communication with Ed Martin or Director Pulte — and I was not.”
Prosecutors’ questions, as it turns out, were less about Schiff’s alleged mortgage improprieties and more about whether Bish had been contacted by, or acted in concert with, people claiming to work at the direction of Martin or Pulte. According to CNN, the subpoena Bish received demanded she turn over any communications with “any person or persons claiming to be” working under the FHFA director Bill Pulte, the Justice Department official Ed Martin, or others “claiming to be acting at the direction or request” of them or their offices.
The context for these pointed questions is a swirl of political intrigue and alleged procedural missteps. Both Martin and Pulte have played outsized roles in efforts to investigate political adversaries of former President Donald Trump. In August, Martin was appointed special prosecutor for probes into Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James, after his nomination for a top federal prosecutor role in Washington, D.C., was withdrawn due to bipartisan concerns over his experience and divisive politics. Pulte, a 37-year-old scion of a home-building fortune, was tapped by Trump to lead the FHFA and has made headlines for his aggressive tactics—publicly making criminal referrals, purging ethics officials, and even appointing himself chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Pulte’s actions have rattled the housing industry and drawn scrutiny from multiple quarters. According to Associated Press, he has been criticized for firing ethics officials and top leaders at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—firings that reportedly followed concerns that Pulte and his allies were using confidential mortgage data as the basis for criminal referrals against political opponents. Some executives were ousted after raising alarms that a Pulte confidant had shared confidential pricing data with Freddie Mac, a direct competitor.
Christine Bish’s interactions with other figures add another layer of complexity. In recent months, she was contacted multiple times by Robert Bowes, a former Trump administration official who claimed to work for Pulte. Bowes, according to a source cited by Associated Press, asked Bish to investigate the mortgages of several individuals and even requested she serve as a source for a negative story about mortgages held by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. Bowes did not respond to requests for comment.
Bish, for her part, insists she has never spoken with Martin and that her only contact with Pulte was a call and message requesting more information after she submitted her research to his agency and the FBI. She told CNN, “If they’re trying to tie me into some kind of clandestine conspiracy, it’s not there, and the best way to protect myself is to be open and honest and public.” Bish added, “Something’s not adding up. And I haven’t gotten to the bottom of it yet, but I will.”
The federal investigation now scrutinizes not just the validity of the mortgage fraud allegations against Schiff and other Democrats, but also whether Martin and Pulte, or their associates, improperly accessed sensitive information or impersonated federal agents. According to CNN, prosecutors are examining whether grand jury materials from the Letitia James case were illegally shared with unauthorized individuals—a potential violation of federal law.
Letitia James, who was charged with bank fraud in October 2025, has pleaded not guilty. Her lawyers have sharply criticized what they called “outrageous government conduct” leading to her indictment. Meanwhile, prosecutors in Maryland have reportedly been hesitant to proceed with charges against Schiff. Schiff himself has denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged with any crime; his attorney declined to comment for the record.
The political backdrop is impossible to ignore. Trump, who has long regarded Schiff as a chief antagonist, publicly pressed Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute Schiff in a September 2025 social media post, 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.”
In addition to Schiff and James, Pulte referred Representative Eric Swalwell, another California Democrat, to the Justice Department for investigation. All three have denied the allegations leveled against them. The investigation into James resulted in criminal charges last month in Virginia, while the status of the Schiff inquiry remains unclear.
The Justice Department, FHFA, and the offices of Martin and Pulte have all declined to comment publicly as the probe unfolds. Notably, attorney Abbe Lowell, representing James and Cook, suggested in a letter to Attorney General Bondi that Pulte’s conduct itself warranted investigation: “These improprieties by Director Pulte may be grounds for your agency or others in the government to review his conduct. I am pointing them out because they undercut his criminal referrals.”
The saga has cast a long shadow over the agencies involved, raising questions about the politicization of law enforcement and the boundaries of acceptable conduct by federal officials. As scrutiny turns from the accused to the accusers, the focus is shifting from the specifics of mortgage paperwork to the broader integrity of the institutions charged with upholding the law. For now, the Justice Department’s probe into its own handling of these politically charged investigations signals a turbulent moment for Washington’s legal and political establishment—a moment that, for all its complexity, has yet to yield clear answers for the public or the players at its center.
