Current:Home > MarketsTrump White House failed to report 117 foreign gifts and some are missing, House Democrats say-LoTradeCoin
Trump White House failed to report 117 foreign gifts and some are missing, House Democrats say
View Date:2024-12-23 20:31:30
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 time in office, and some of those gifts remain missing, according to a report released Friday by Democratic staffers on the House Oversight Committee.
The missing gifts include a "larger-than-life-sized" painting gifted to Trump by the president of El Salvador, and golf clubs from the prime minister of Japan valued at more than $7,200, the 15-page report said. A decorated box valued at $450 that was gifted to Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and White House adviser, is also unaccounted for, the report said.
The missing items are among 117 foreign gifts to Trump and his family valued at $291,000 that the White House failed to report to the State Department as required by federal law, according to the report. The committee staffers relied on White House and National Archives records to determine which gifts weren't reported to the State Department.
The unreported items included gifts from Chinese President Xi Jinping, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and others.
"The discovery of these unreported foreign gifts raises significant questions about why former President Trump failed to disclose these gifts to the public, as required by law," the report said.
A spokesperson for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CBS News about the report.
Under the Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act, foreign gifts given to federal officials or their families become the property of the U.S. government if their worth exceeds a certain value. (For most of Trump's time in office, the value was $415. It's currently $480.) 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 about all gifts given to government employees every year.
The law stipulates that recipients can keep the gifts if they purchase them from the General Services Administration (GSA), but they are still required to be disclosed to the State Department. The rules are meant to prevent foreign governments from influencing U.S. officials.
Many of the foreign gifts given to Trump or his family members are still in the possession of the GSA, National Archives and other federal agencies, according to the committee's report. Some were auctioned off to the public, and others were subsequently purchased by members of the Trump family, including a $24,000 Saudi dagger and a $13,500 vase that Kushner purchased.
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 carpet and a $12,000 saber. The dagger was transferred to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The bowl, carpet and saber are in the possession of the National Archives, which received many of the gifts once Trump left office.
The White House reported some foreign gifts given to Trump, Kushner, first lady Melania Trump and Trump's daughter and White House adviser Ivanka Trump to the State Department from 2017 to 2019, but it did not report all of them, the report said. It disclosed only one gift to Kushner in 2020 and none for the rest of the Trump family.
Democrats on the committee said they would continue to investigate whether the gifts had any effect on U.S. foreign policy.
- In:
- Donald Trump
Caitlin Yilek is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital. Reach her at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/hausofcait
TwitterveryGood! (5387)
Related
- Advocates Expect Maryland to Drive Climate Action When Trump Returns to Washington
- Zoom's updated TOS prompted concerns about AI and privacy. Can the two go hand-in-hand?
- Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone pulls out of world championships due to injury
- Vanna White will be absent from some 'Wheel of Fortune' episodes next season: Here's why
- Artem Chigvintsev Returns to Dancing With the Stars Ballroom Amid Nikki Garcia Divorce
- 'Feisty queen:' Atlanta zoo mourns Biji the orangutan, who lived to an 'exceptional' age
- Jennifer Hudson's 14-Year-Old Son David Looks All Grown Up in Birthday Video
- Colorado coach Deion Sanders says last year's team had 'dead eyes', happy with progress
- The results are in: Peanut the Squirrel did not have rabies, county official says
- Top lawyer at Fox Corp. to step down after overseeing $787M settlement in Dominion defamation case
Ranking
- Horoscopes Today, November 9, 2024
- Developers have Black families fighting to maintain property and history
- Kelsea Ballerini Says She Feels Supported and Seen by Boyfriend Chase Stokes
- Woman arrested after missing man's corpse found inside her Ohio home
- Olivia Culpo Celebrates Christian McCaffrey's NFL Comeback Alongside Mother-in-Law
- Naomi Campbell Shares Rare Insight Into Life as a Mom of Two
- Guatemalan presidential candidate Sandra Torres leans on conservative values, opposing gay marriage
- Polish government plans referendum asking if voters want ‘thousands of illegal immigrants’
Recommendation
-
Jason Statham Shares Rare Family Photos of Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Their Kids on Vacation
-
Lahaina, his hometown, was in flames. He looked for a way out. Then he heard the screams.
-
Abducted By My Teacher: Why Elizabeth Thomas Is Done Hiding Her Horrifying Story
-
California based wine company has 2,000 bottles seized for fermenting wine in ocean illegally
-
The Surreal Life’s Kim Zolciak Fuels Dating Rumors With Costar Chet Hanks After Kroy Biermann Split
-
Georgia judge needs more time in lawsuit over blocking the state’s ban on gender-affirming care
-
Possible listeria outbreak linked to recalled soft serve ice cream cups made by Real Kosher
-
Georgia judge needs more time in lawsuit over blocking the state’s ban on gender-affirming care