The Justice Department is examining its handling of its investigation into Adam Schiff.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is examining its handling of Sen. Adam Schiff’s mortgage fraud investigation, including the possible involvement of people who said they were acting at the behest or direction of two Trump administration officials who have been pushing the investigation into the California Democrat, according to a document reviewed by The News.

Federal authorities involved in the Schiff investigation in Maryland on Thursday interviewed a Republican congressional candidate who promoted mortgage fraud allegations against the lawmaker and questioned her about any communications she may have had with Justice Department official Ed Martin and Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte. The interview occurred after the woman received a subpoena requesting information about communications she may have had with people who claimed to be working under the direction of Pulte and Martin.

Christine Bish, a real estate agent running for a congressional seat in California, told the AP that she was willing to talk to investigators about her own years-long effort to draw attention to Schiff’s mortgages. But authorities focused on possible interactions he had with Pulte and Martin, Bish said.

“I expected to be asked questions, lots of questions, about: ‘How did Adam Schiff’s research come about and what were its findings?’ Bish said. “What they wanted to know was if I was in communication with Ed Martin or Director Pulte, and I wasn’t.”

Bish said he was still trying to get back to Schiff’s allegations, but that officials “are trying, in my opinion, to investigate the investigators.”

AP

The revelation that authorities are turning their attention to the handling of the Schiff investigation will likely bring new scrutiny to Pulte and Martin’s already criticized efforts to investigate Trump’s political enemies for mortgage fraud.

The revelation that authorities are turning their attention to the handling of the Schiff investigation will likely bring new scrutiny to Pulte and Martin’s already criticized efforts to investigate Trump’s political enemies for mortgage fraud.

In recent months, Bish had been contacted several times by Robert Bowes, who worked in the first Trump administration and intended to work for Pulte, according to a person familiar with the conversations who spoke on condition of anonymity because of concerns about retaliation.

Bowes, who is named in the subpoena, asked Bish to investigate several people’s mortgages, the person said. On one occasion, Bowes asked Bish to act as a source for a national media outlet that he said was working on a negative story about Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s mortgages, the person said.

Bowes did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.

Pulte did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. A message seeking comment was also left with a spokesperson for Martin. The Justice Department declined to comment.

In August, the department named Martin a special prosecutor to help conduct investigations into Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Prosecutors have issued separate subpoenas as part of a mortgage fraud investigation against Lisa Cook, the Federal Reserve governor whom Trump has sought to fire.

Lawyers for all three have denied the allegations.

The investigation into Schiff is being led by Maryland prosecutors, although the status of the investigation is unclear. The investigation into James resulted in criminal charges last month in Virginia. He pleaded not guilty, and in a filing this week, his attorneys alleged what they said was “outrageous” government conduct that resulted in his indictment.

Bish told the AP that he previously presented his work on Schiff to congressional ethics officials, but nothing came of it. After Pulte put out a call for tips on mortgage fraud, he resubmitted his investigation to the agency he heads, as well as the FBI. Pulte called her and left a voicemail asking for more information, she said, but Bish said she had never had a conversation with him.

The subpoena Bish received seeks any communications he had with Pulte or anyone claiming to be working under him, including anyone claiming to be Pulte’s chief of staff. It also seeks information about communications with anyone “claiming to be working for or at the direction of” the Justice Department or “anyone claiming to be acting at the direction or request of” Martin.