OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Documents revealed this week could spell the end of Rep. Adam Schiff’s bid for the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s seat.
CNN reported Thursday that the California Democrat has claimed his primary residence is a 3,420-square-foot home he owns in Maryland, according to a review of mortgage records by the network.
“At the same time, Schiff has for years taken a homeowner’s tax exemption on a much smaller 650-square-foot condo he owns in Burbank, California, also claiming that home as his primary residence for a reduction in his tax bill of $7,000. He did not take an exemption from his home in Maryland,” the outlet continued.
The network noted further: “While Schiff has signed documents asserting both the Maryland property and the significantly smaller Burbank condo as his primary residences, tax records indicate that he paid his California property taxes in 2017 with a check featuring his Maryland address – the only year he paid with a personal check. And a review of past comments, pictures shared on his public social media, and records indicate Schiff makes his full-time home in Maryland.”
That isn’t likely to sit well with California voters as Schiff vies for Feinstein’s former Senate seat in a competitive Democratic primary against Reps. Katie Porter and Barbara Lee.
CNN noted that deed records show that Schiff, who was first elected to the House in 2000 and who was a regular feature on CNN making false claims about possessing evidence that Donald Trump “colluded” with Russia to “steal” the 2016 election, began listing the Maryland residence as his primary home in 2003. Also, Schiff refinanced the mortgage on his Maryland home in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012, once again indicating that it was his primary residence, CNN added.
“Los Angeles County deed records for Schiff’s Burbank condo, purchased in 2009, were notarized in Maryland. On one page of the deed, the state: California and the county: Los Angeles are crossed out and Maryland and Montgomery County are written in. The records also list Schiff’s Maryland home as an address the records are being returned to,” the report said.
According to Marisol Samayoa, a spokeswoman for Schiff’s campaign, the California Democrat claims his primary residence is in the Golden State, adding he has been open about that while citing a number of news articles as well as a mention in a book he wrote.
“Adam’s primary residence is Burbank, California, and will remain so when he wins the Senate seat,” she told CNN in an email. “As Adam has discussed openly many times over the years, including in his recent New York Times best-selling book, he and Eve made the difficult decision to move their family to the D.C. area to spend more time with his children while doing his job.”
She also told CNN that both homes were claimed as primary residences for loan purposes.
“Adam’s California and Maryland addresses have been listed as primary residences for loan purposes because they are both occupied throughout the year and to distinguish them from a vacation property,” she added.
But, CNN said, despite buying the Maryland residence just two years into his congressional tenure, a campaign website biography indicated that Schiff raised his family at the small Burbank home between 2010 and 2014.
“Settled in Burbank, CA, Adam and his wife Eve are the proud parents of daughter Alexa, age 13, and son Elijah, age 10,” the biography, which makes no mention of his home in Maryland, says.
CNN notes: “In 2020, Schiff refinanced his mortgage indicating the Maryland house was his second home, but a social media post from 2021 suggested the congressman was still living at the home with his wife.
“On June 7, 2022, on the day of Democratic primary in the Los Angeles mayor’s race, Schiff posted a photo of himself wearing an ‘I Voted’ sticker on Twitter in front of his Maryland home,” the outlet added.
“California! Los Angeles! Voters are voting….so go, VOTE !” he wrote on social media.
