Trump targets enemies using mortgage records, a threat to D.C. elite

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/10/24/washington-politicians-mortgage-scrutiny-trump

President Donald Trump’s administration is using personal mortgage files to investigate, criminally refer and indict its enemies for fraud, zeroing in on people who appear to claim multiple homes as primary residences.

At least 41 members of the House — 29 Democrats and 12 Republicans — included multiple mortgages on their most recent annual financial disclosure reports, according to a Washington Post analysis of publicly available documents. At least 26 senators — 16 Republicans and 10 Democrats — disclosed multiple mortgages on their filings.

The tactic may pose a special threat in Washington, where dozens of lawmakers and other political figures also report holding mortgages on more than one home.

Yet the findings underscore the unusual nature of using the documents as basis for fraud.

“It’s in the same general ballpark of taking information about people that exists for a legitimate purpose,” Hedtler-Gaudette said, “and then trying to abuse and misuse it.”