On Tuesday morning, the president, himself a convicted felon, used his social media platform to accuse Schiff of “mortgage fraud” and being “a Crook.” Soon after, Trump declared on camera that he would “love” to see the Californian “brought to justice.”

https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:4llrhdclvdlmmynkwsmg5tdc/post/3ltzhttnp2z2j

Link to tweet

As The Washington Post reported, at least some officials in the administration appear to be taking this seriously.

A senior administration official told The Washington Post that a criminal case had been referred to the Justice Department, in a sharp escalation of the White House’s attacks on vocal Trump critics. ... The senior administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said criminal prosecution is now up to the Justice Department. The official added that ‘this is just the beginning, unfortunately,’ for Schiff.

.....To the extent that the underlying substance matters, the allegations appear quite thin. From the Post’s report:

Designating a home as a primary residence, instead of a secondary home or investment property, can get borrowers lower rates because primary homes are seen as less risky to lenders. But a spokesperson for Schiff’s office said the lenders for Schiff’s homes in both California and Washington were ‘well aware’ of his intended year-round use of both homes while in public office and that neither of the properties was a vacation home.

“This is just Donald Trump’s latest attempt at political retaliation against his perceived enemies,” Schiff wrote online. “So it is not a surprise, only how weak this false allegation turns out to be.”