A new report from ProPublica claims that President Donald Trump essentially committed “mortgage fraud” based on his own standard of the term.
While the Trump administration has argued that Federal Reserve Board member Lisa Cook might have committed mortgage fraud by declaring more than one primary residence on her loans, the report found that Trump once did the same thing that he has deemed “deceitful and potentially criminal.”
Why It Matters
Trump has been vocal in calling out political adversaries for claiming more than one primary residence on loans, saying that it amounts to mortgage fraud.
But his previous actions could fit into the same standard of fraud that he framed against them, according to ProPublica.
What To Know
Trump signed a mortgage in 1993 for a home in Palm Beach, Florida, claiming the property would be his principal residence, ProPublica reported, then seven weeks later got another mortgage for a different home and claimed the same thing.
Trump, who resided in New York at the time, has not appeared to live at either property and rented out the homes as investment real estate, ProPublica said.
“Given Trump’s position on situations like this, he’s going to either need to fire himself or refer himself to the Department of Justice,” Kathleen Engel, a Suffolk University law professor and expert on mortgage finance, told ProPublica. “Trump has deemed that this type of misrepresentation is sufficient to preclude someone from serving the country.”
Generally, mortgages for a person’s main home can secure lower interest rates than second homes or an investment rental property. However, a spokesperson for the White House told ProPublica that the report is misleading.
“President Trump’s two mortgages you are referencing are from the same lender. There was no defraudation. It is illogical to believe that the same lender would agree to defraud itself,” a White House spokesperson told ProPublica. “This is 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.”
Trump was convicted in May 2024 on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush-money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels, who said the two had sex.
The ProPublica report has sparked backlash.
“But when Trump is the mortgage fraudster, it’s OK! Those are the rules in the Age of Trump,” Larry Sabato, the director for the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, wrote on X.
Melanie D’Arrigo, the executive director for the Campaign for New York Health, wrote: “Trump committed mortgage fraud, according to Trump. Somehow I doubt his DOJ will go after him the way he instructed his DOJ to go after his political enemies over this. Every Republican accusation is a confession.”
For tax purposes, the IRS requires individuals to choose one primary residence in which they spend the majority of their time annually. However, there can be exceptions over short periods of time, like a move triggered by a job change or even a clerical error on how a purchase is entered, said Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin.
“Still, the accusations of federal employees committing ‘fraudulent activity’ through a vague definition of multiple primary residencies is a low bar that other officials in the administration ironically clear,” Beene told Newsweek.
What People Are Saying
Bill Pulte, the Federal Housing Finance Agency director, earlier this year: “If somebody is claiming two primary residences, that is not appropriate, and we will refer it for criminal investigation.”
A White House spokesperson told ProPublica: “President Trump’s two mortgages you are referencing are from the same lender. There was no defraudation. It is illogical to believe that the same lender would agree to defraud itself.
“This is 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.”
Independent progressive journalist Brian Allen, on X: “He called it criminal when they did it. He called it business when he did it.”
What Happens Next
It remains to be seen whether the ProPublica report will warrant any legal consequences.
“Trump has skillfully desensitized the media and public where so many stories surface that it’s hard for people to tell what’s real or exaggerated,” Kevin Thompson, the CEO of 9i Capital Group and the host of the 9innings podcast, told Newsweek. “Because of that, this report likely won’t have lasting consequences beyond a few weeks of headlines, which he may even welcome as a distraction from the economy.”
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