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- ProPublica reported President Trump took out mortgages weeks apart in the 1990s on two homes he claimed as principal residences but rented out, raising questions about borrower intent and mortgage fraud definitions.
- Trump used Merrill Lynch to finance both properties and signed occupancy agreements stating he would live in each as a primary residence, though contemporaneous accounts show the homes were rented.
- The transactions are notable as the Trump administration investigates four Democrats for alleged mortgage fraud, resulting in an indictment and legal challenges involving high-profile political figures.
- The U.S. Government Accountability Office is investigating whether Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, misused its authority to target political opponents.
An AI tool created this summary, which was based on the text of the article and checked by an editor.
The White House denies wrongdoing, and loans were paid off long ago, but circumstances are similar to political rivals’ deals that Trump has called fraudulent.
President Donald Trump took out mortgages weeks apart in the 1990s on two homes he claimed as principal residences but rented out — circumstances similar to those that he’s claimed as evidence that political opponents committed mortgage fraud, ProPublica reported Monday.
Legal experts told ProPublica that there are situations where claiming more than one home as a primary residence can be legitimate, and that borrower intent is key to proving mortgage fraud. Trump used the same lender, Merrill Lynch, to finance both homes in December 1993 and January 1994, and his signature is on both loan agreements, ProPublica found.
“President Trump’s two mortgages you are referencing are from the same lender,” a White House spokesperson told ProPublica, and “it is illogical to believe that the same lender would agree to defraud itself.”
Claiming a home as a principal residence can help borrowers get a better interest rate than if they were purchasing a property as a second home or investment property.
Trump signed documents with standard occupancy requirements saying he would make both properties his principal residence within 60 days and live there for at least a year, ProPublica reported. But news accounts at the time and an interview with his former real estate agent show the homes were used as rental properties.
The loans, totaling $1.725 million, were paid off, and the statute of limitations for mortgage fraud expired long ago. But the transactions are newsworthy because the Trump administration is investigating four prominent Democrats for alleged mortgage fraud.
All four deny wrongdoing, but criminal referrals made by Bill Pulte, the head of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s federal regulator, have resulted in an indictment of New York Attorney General Letitia James, and served as the basis for the Trump administration’s attempt to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook from her post.
The case against James was thrown out on Nov. 24 on the grounds that prosecutor Lindsey Halligan had been illegally appointed, and the Supreme Court has put the Trump administration’s attempt to remove Cook on hold pending a hearing in January.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office last week agreed to investigate whether Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s federal regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, “misused federal authority and resources” to investigate political opponents of the Trump administration.
Another Democrat subjected to a criminal referral by Pulte, California Rep. Eric Swalwell, sued Pulte, the FHFA, Fannie and Freddie on Nov. 25. The lawsuit alleges that the Trump administration violated the Privacy Act of 1974, which forbids federal agencies from disclosing sensitive information about individuals for purposes not explicitly authorized by the law.
ProPublica reported in September that three Trump Cabinet members have claimed more than one home as a principal residence: Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Environmental Protection Agency chief Lee Zeldin. All have denied wrongdoing.
The White House spokesperson characterized ProPublica’s latest report as “yet another desperate attempt by the Left-wing media to disparage President Trump with false allegations.”
President Trump, “has never, or will ever, break the law,” the spokesperson told ProPublica.
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