Trump took out new 30-year mortgage in 2018 worth over $5 million

By Ginger Gibson

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump obtained a new 30-year mortgage in 2018 for a property he owned in West Palm Beach, Florida, according to new financial disclosures made public on Thursday by the Office of Government Ethics.

The mortgage valued at $5 million to $25 million has a 4.5% interest rate, according to the new filings. A real estate website lists the house, which is near the president’s Mar-a-Lago beachfront estate and private club in Palm Beach, as being available for rent for about $81,000 a month.

According to Palm Beach County public records, the loan is worth $11.2 million.

The White House declined to comment on the filings.

The eight-bedroom house is more than 10,000 square feet (930 square meters). According to the Palm Beach Daily News, the president’s two adult sons, Eric and Don Jr., bought the house last year for $18.5 million from one of the president’s older sisters.

The financial disclosures are mandated by law and offer a peek into the president’s sprawling finances.

Unlike all other modern presidents, Trump refuses to release his tax returns, which would offer a clearer picture of how much money he is personally bringing in. The disclosures offer a glimpse of the number of properties he and his businesses own.

Last year in May, Trump’s disclosure form made public for the first time that he repaid more than $100,000 to former personal attorney Michael Cohen, who had paid hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels about an affair she alleges to have had years before with the president.

Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison in December for his role in making illegal payments to women to help Trump’s 2016 election campaign and lying to Congress about a proposed Trump Tower project in Russia. Cohen reported to prison earlier this month.

The disclosure released in May 2018 also showed that Trump received more than $25 million in income in 2017 from Mar-a-Lago and more than $15 million in income from his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

Trump spends time and vacations at both clubs and sells memberships to Mar-a-Lago. His continued ownership of the golf venues has been criticized by opponents, who say it blends personal and public business, allowing him to profit from the presidency.

(Reporting by Ginger Gibson. Additional reporting by Julia Harte and Andy Sullivan.; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall, Richard Chang and Jonathan Oatis)