AG Bondi opened DOJ investigations into Sen. Adam Schiff and NY AG Letitia James, appointing Trump ally Ed Martin as special attorney for both probes

On August 8, 2025, Attorney General Pamela Bondi formally opened Department of Justice investigations into Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and New York Attorney General Letitia James — two of the most prominent Democratic critics of Donald Trump — appointing Ed Martin, a conservative activist who had previously served as interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, as special attorney to lead both probes simultaneously. The referrals came exclusively from Bill Pulte, the FHFA director and a Trump loyalist with no prosecutorial background, who alleged mortgage occupancy fraud against a property Schiff purchased in 2003 and made an equivalent allegation against James.

Both Schiff and James had led or supported efforts to hold Trump legally accountable before his return to power. The appointment of an ideological ally as special attorney to investigate Trump's political opponents, based solely on referrals from another political appointee, represented a structural departure from prosecutorial norms requiring independence from political influence. NBC News subsequently reported that the Schiff probe had "not produced enough evidence to bring charges" and had stalled; a separate federal grand jury was later convened to examine DOJ's own handling of the Schiff investigation.