Natalia Chi
Washington — The White House under former President Donald Trump failed to report over 100 gifts given to him and his family by foreign governments while in office, and some of those gifts remain missing House Oversight Committee.
The missing gifts include a “life-size” painting given to Trump by the Salvadoran president and a golf club from the Japanese prime minister worth more than $7,200. 15 page report Said. A decorated box worth $450 given to Trump’s son-in-law and White House adviser Jared Kushner is also missing.
The missing items are among 117 foreign gifts worth $291,000 to Trump and his family that the White House did not report to the State Department as required by federal law, according to the report. Commission staff identified gifts that were not reported to the State Department based on White House and National Archives records.
The unreported items included 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 serious questions as to why former President Trump did not disclose these gifts to the public as required by law.
A Trump spokesperson did not immediately respond to CBS News’ request for comment on the report.
Under the Foreign Gifts Act, foreign gifts given to federal employees or their family members become the property of the U.S. Government when their value exceeds a certain value. The White House is responsible for reporting gifts given to the President, Vice President, and their families to the State Department, which publishes a report on all gifts given. civil servant every year.
The law states that the recipient can keep the gift if purchased from the General Services Administration (GSA), but must still be disclosed to the Department of State. The rule is intended to prevent foreign governments from influencing U.S. officials.
Many of the foreign gifts given to Trump and his family are still owned by the GSA, the National Archives and other federal agencies, according to the commission’s report. Some were auctioned to the public, and some were later purchased by members of the Trump family, including his $24,000 Saudi Arabian dagger purchased by Kushner and his $13,500 vase.
Unreported gifts detailed in the commission’s findings include a $35,000 dagger with an ivory handle, a $12,400 ceramic bowl, a $12,000 silk carpet and a $12,000 saber. . The dagger has been transferred to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The bowl, carpet and saber are owned by the National Archives, which Trump received many gifts after he left office.
The White House reported to the State Department foreign gifts given to Trump, Kushner, First Lady Melania Trump, and Trump’s daughter and White House adviser Ivanka Trump from 2017 to 2019. But it didn’t report them all, the report said.In 2020, it disclosed only one gift to Kushner, and didn’t reveal gifts to the rest of the Trump family.
Democrats on the committee said they would continue to investigate whether the gift had any impact on U.S. foreign policy.
