Report: Trump Used Primary Mortgages for Rentals

The Trump administration has pursued investigations into political opponents over alleged mortgage fraud, arguing that misrepresenting a property’s primary residence can constitute a serious violation. Newly uncovered records, however, suggest President Trump himself once made similar representations.

According to a ProPublica investigation, Trump signed two mortgages on neighboring Palm Beach properties in late 1993 and early 1994, listing each home as his primary residence. The houses, located just north of Mar-a-Lago, were financed through Merrill Lynch. The mortgage documents included standard provisions requiring the borrower to move in within 60 days and occupy the property for at least one year, unless alternative arrangements were approved by the lender.

Yet contemporaneous news reports, rental advertisements, and statements from the Trump family’s longtime real estate broker indicate the homes were treated as rental properties from the outset, while Trump continued to reside in New York. “They were rentals from the beginning,” said Shirley Wyner, the wife and business partner of the late broker. “President Trump never lived there.”

Mortgage law experts told ProPublica that holding more than one mortgage designated as a primary residence is not automatically illegal and is rarely prosecuted, particularly decades later. However, they said Trump’s situation appears comparable to, or more substantial than, conduct his own administration has cited when accusing others of mortgage fraud.

Suffolk University law professor Kathleen Engel remarked that under the administration’s own standards, “he’s going to either need to fire himself or refer himself to the Department of Justice.”

The mortgages have long since been paid off and fall well outside the statute of limitations. The White House dismissed the report, emphasizing that both loans were issued by the same bank and arguing it would be “illogical” for a lender to knowingly defraud itself. A spokesperson described the story as a partisan attack and said President Trump “has never, or will ever, break the law.”

Bank of America, which now owns Merrill Lynch, declined to comment on the specific loans.

The ProPublica report contrasts Trump’s case with recent actions by his administration. New York Attorney General Letitia James was previously charged—before the case was dismissed on procedural grounds—over allegations she treated a declared second home as a rental. Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, whom Trump has sought to remove, was accused of taking out two primary-residence mortgages within weeks of each other, which Trump described as potentially criminal. Similar accusations have been directed at other Democrats, while no comparable public actions against Republicans have resulted from the administration’s mortgage investigations.

ProPublica noted that President Trump ended a phone call with one of its reporters when asked to comment on the findings.

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