Trump White House failed to report 117 foreign gifts and some are missing, House Democrats say
Washington – The White House under former President Donald Trump failed to report more than 100 gifts given to him and his family by foreign governments during his tenure, and some of those gifts are still missing, Friday. According to a report released by Democratic staff. House Oversight Committee
Among the missing gifts are a “larger-than-life” painting gifted to Trump by the president of El Salvador and a golf club belonging to the Japanese prime minister valued at more than $7,200. 15 page report said. A decorated box valued at $450 that was gifted to Trump’s son-in-law and White House adviser, Jared Kushner, is also unaccounted for, the report said.
According to the report, the missing items are among 117 foreign gifts to Trump and his family worth $291,000 that the White House failed to report to the State Department as required by federal law. Committee staff relied on White House and National Archives records to determine which gifts were not reported to the State Department.
Among the unreported items were gifts from Chinese President Xi Jinping, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and others.
“The discovery of these unreported foreign gifts raises important questions about why former President Trump failed to disclose these gifts to the public, as required by law,” the report said.
A spokesman for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the CBS News report.
Under the Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act, foreign gifts given to federal officials or their families become property of the US government if their value exceeds a certain value. (For most of Trump’s time in office, the price was $415. It’s currently $480.) The White House is responsible for reporting gifts to the president, vice president and their families to the State Department, which tracks all gifts. Publishes reports on Every year to government employees
The law states that recipients can keep gifts if they buy them from the General Services Administration (GSA), but must still disclose them to the State Department. The purpose of these laws is to prevent foreign governments from influencing US officials.
Many foreign gifts to Trump or members of his family are still in the possession of the GSA, the National Archives and other federal agencies, according to the committee’s report. Some were auctioned off to the public, and others were later bought by members of the Trump family, including a $24,000 Saudi dagger and a $13,500 vase bought by Kushner.
The unreported gifts detailed in the committee’s findings include a $35,000 dagger with an ivory handle, a $12,400 ceramic bowl, a $12,000 silk rug and a $12,000 saber. The dagger was turned over to the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The bowl, rug and kirpan are in the possession of the National Archives, which received many of the gifts after Trump left office.
The White House reported some foreign gifts to the State Department from 2017 to 2019 to Trump, Kushner, first lady Melania Trump and Trump’s daughter and White House adviser Ivanka Trump, the report said, but it did not include them. Not all reported. He revealed only one gift to Kushner in 2020 and none to the rest of the Trump family.
Democrats on the committee said they would continue to investigate whether the gifts had any impact on US foreign policy.