Trump accused Democrats of mortgage fraud. Turns out he may have done it himself.

Trump claimed Democrats abused the system. New reporting suggests he was the one gaming it for better rates.

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If you follow politics long enough, you start to notice a pattern with Donald Trump. Whenever he loudly accuses someone else of a crime, just give it a minute. Eventually, we learn that he was doing the exact same thing. It’s just usually on a grander scale, with fewer consequences, and delivered with a straight face that suggests he expects no one to notice.

Well, we have arrived at that moment again.

A new investigative report suggests that Trump may have committed the very mortgage fraud he has accused Democrats of committing. And not in a metaphorical way. Not in a “spirit of the law” way. In the literal, documented, signed-on-paper way.

Let’s walk through this, because the hypocrisy here is almost cinematic.

Trump’s Favorite Accusation

Over the last year, Trump has repeatedly claimed that Lisa Cook, a Federal Reserve governor, and Senator Adam Schiff engaged in mortgage fraud. According to Trump, both listed more than one property as a “primary residence” in order to get a better mortgage rate. This is a very specific accusation.

Here is how mortgage rules work. When you apply for a mortgage, lenders ask a critical question: Are you going to live in this home? If the answer is yes, and you intend to make it your primary residence, you get a better interest rate. If the property is a rental, or a vacation house you plan to use occasionally, the terms are worse. Lenders give the best deal to the property they believe you will occupy.

Trump has claimed that Cook and Schiff lied on these forms. But here is the thing: all available information shows that they did move into the homes they listed as their primary residences. Then, at a later date, they moved into other homes and declared those as their new primary residences. That is allowed. It is not mortgage fraud if you move in, live there, and then at some later point move again.

Intent matters. Occupancy matters. And as far as anyone can tell, Cook and Schiff followed the rules.

The Trump Twist

Enter ProPublica.

Their reporting shows that in 1993, Donald Trump signed a mortgage document for a Florida property and certified that the home would be his primary residence. This gave him the best terms and lowest rate. Nothing illegal yet.

Seven weeks later, Trump signed a mortgage on an entirely different Florida property. He again declared that home would be his primary residence. Again he received the better rate.

Seven weeks.

It takes longer than that to get cable installed in some towns. Forget moving furniture or establishing residency. Trump did not live in the first house. He did not live in the second house. He does not appear to have ever intended to live in either. Both were rental investments.

That is the critical legal point. If you declare a house to be your primary residence and never move into it and never intend to, that is mortgage fraud. This is not ambiguous. This is the scenario Trump claimed Democrats should be prosecuted for.

He did it twice.

The Hypocrisy Calculus

Let’s put the pieces together:

Lisa Cook and Adam Schiff

• Declared homes as primary residences

• Lived in those homes

• Later moved and declared new residences

• No evidence of fraud

Donald Trump

• Declared two different homes as primary residences

• Never lived in either

• Appears to have never intended to live in either

• Rented them out for income

If Cook and Schiff are guilty, Trump is guilty times two. If Cook and Schiff are innocent, Trump is still guilty, because his actions do not meet the legal standard of truthful disclosure.

There is a reason Trump’s critics say every accusation is a confession. Once again, the man screaming “fraud” is standing ankle deep in affidavits that point straight back at himself.

The Trump Exception

Of course, Trump defenders have already moved on to their next excuse. “The statute of limitations.” “It was so long ago. Nobody cares.” “That was a different Trump.”

What they will not say is the quiet part:

If anyone else did this, Donald Trump would demand criminal prosecution.

He always wants a standard for himself, and another one entirely for his opponents. His actions are noble deals. Their actions are crimes. His lies are misunderstandings. Their truths are witch hunts.

The double standard is not a side story. It is the whole story.

Where This Leaves Us

Mortgage fraud is not a culture war insult. It is a financial crime. It affects banks, rates, insurance, lending standards and the fairness of a system millions of Americans participate in.

Trump accused others of doing something that is not illegal when they did it. In the process, he appears to have revealed that he is the one who actually broke the rules.

Once again, Trump is throwing stones, and his glass house is full of broken windows.

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