The Justice Department’s criminal probe into Democrat Sen. Adam Schiff — one of President Donald Trump’s most outspoken critics — may be stalled, according to a Thursday report from NBC News.
Four people familiar with the matter told NBC that federal prosecutors in Maryland have not gathered sufficient evidence to bring charges against Schiff. One federal law enforcement source said the investigation had “come to a standstill.”
U.S. Attorney Kelly Hayes, who is overseeing the case, met earlier this week with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to discuss how to proceed, NBC reported. The two decided prosecutors should continue searching for more evidence, meaning the probe technically remains open.
“No final decision has been made,” one of the sources said.
The White House referred all questions to the Justice Department, which has not commented publicly.
Schiff, who led the House impeachment effort against President Donald Trump in 2019-20 and later chaired the House Intelligence Committee, has been one of the president’s fiercest adversaries in Washington.
During Trump’s first term, Schiff repeatedly accused the president of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, sparking a contentious Senate impeachment trial. The Californian especially perpetuated what Trump calls the Russia hoax.
Throughout their personal and political feuding, Trump has derided Schiff by tagging him with nicknames like “Shifty Schiff,” “Liddle’ Adam Schiff,” and “Pencil Neck.”
Schiff’s attorney, former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, told NBC that Justice Department’s current criminal probe is politically motivated and unfounded.
“It seems pretty clear that a team of career prosecutors have thoroughly reviewed the politically motivated allegations against Senator Schiff and found they are unsupported by any evidence and are baseless,” Bharara said.
The lawyer called the case “a transparently vindictive effort” and urged the Justice Department to end it.
Attorney General Pam Bondi launched the probe this year, appointing conservative attorney Ed Martin as a special counsel. NBC reported that Martin met with Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, who referred Schiff to the Justice Department in May on allegations of mortgage fraud.
Pulte also referred New York Attorney General Letitia James, who was indicted this month on bank fraud charges, which she has denied.
Trump, writing last month on Truth Social, urged Bondi to pursue Schiff and James, saying, “What about Comey, Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff, Leticia??? They’re all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done.”
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