- Records show Donald Trump signed two Palm Beach mortgages in 1993–94, each attesting the house would be his principal residence.
- Both homes next to Mar-a-Lago were rented out and advertised, not lived in by Trump, contemporaneous accounts and agents say.
- Legal experts say the loans mirror the mortgage conduct the Trump administration has called potentially criminal.
- The loans were with Merrill Lynch and are now paid off; the mid-1990s transactions are outside the statute of limitations.
What the records show
In December 1993 and January 1994, Donald Trump took out two mortgages on neighboring Palm Beach homes north of Mar‑a‑Lago. Each mortgage document contains the standard occupancy clause requiring the borrower to make the property a principal residence within 60 days and live there for at least a year.
But contemporaneous news accounts, rental listings and interviews with Trump’s longtime real estate agents indicate the houses were prepared and rented as investment properties. Local newspapers advertised both homes for short‑term and long‑term rental; one listing from 1997 offered a seven‑bedroom house for $3,000 per day.
The lender on both loans was Merrill Lynch. Bank of America, which now owns Merrill Lynch, did not provide original loan files in response to questions.
Why the comparison matters
In recent months, the Trump administration has publicly accused political opponents of mortgage fraud for signing mortgage documents that list more than one primary residence. President Trump and Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte have described such conduct as “deceitful” and worthy of criminal referral.
ProPublica’s review found that Trump’s own Florida mortgages matched the specific scenario his administration has criticized: signing occupancy attestations for properties that appear to have been used as rentals.
Experts weigh in
Mortgage law specialists told ProPublica that having more than one mortgage claiming a property as a primary residence can sometimes be legitimate and is rarely prosecuted. But they also noted Trump’s two loans “exceed the low bar” the administration has set when publicly pressing criminal inquiries.
Kathleen Engel, a Suffolk University law professor, said Trump would face scrutiny under his own standard: “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.”
Administration response and legal context
The White House told reporters the two mortgages were from the same lender and said it was “illogical to believe that the same lender would agree to defraud itself.” The spokesperson called the reporting a “desperate attempt by the Left wing media.”
Even if the transactions were improper, they occurred more than three decades ago and the loans have been paid off, placing them outside the statute of limitations for mortgage fraud prosecutions.
Embedded posts and sources
Embedded posts referenced by the administration and media: https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115092130707196133 and https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114857687712359546
Records and reporting referenced: ProPublica review of mortgage documents, contemporaneous Palm Beach listings, and news coverage from the 1990s.
Bottom line
Documents show Trump signed two Palm Beach mortgage agreements each attesting the property would be his principal residence while evidence suggests both were rented. The revelation mirrors the mortgage conduct his administration has publicly framed as potentially criminal, though the age of the transactions means prosecution is unlikely.
Image Referance: https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-mortgage-fraud-florida-principal-residences
