Democrats launch investigation into Trump’s foreign gifts including a marble replica of Gandhi’s Three Monkeys statue, a Louis Vuitton golf bag and a gold-framed photo of himself
- Oversight Chair Rep. Carolyn Maloney announced the investigation into ‘Trump’s apparent failure to account for gifts from foreign government officials’
- The letter claimed that the committee had been given information from the Department of State indicating Trump ‘did not prioritize’ reporting gifts
- The president is prohibited from accepting personal gifts from foreign governments unless they are below a $415 value
The House Oversight Committee is launching an investigation into whether foreign gifts given to former President Trump have gone missing.
Oversight Chair Rep. Carolyn Maloney wrote in a letter to the National Archives Tuesday announcing the committee’s investigation into ‘Trump’s apparent failure to account for gifts from foreign government officials while in office, as required by law.’
The letter claimed that the committee had been given information from the Department of State indicating the Trump administration ‘did not prioritize this obligation’ and failed to comply with the foreign gift reporting law mostly in Trump’s last year in office.
‘As a result, the foreign sources and monetary value of gifts President Trump received remain unknown,’ the letter said.
‘The Department of State also stated that it was unable to determine the identities of some government officials who received foreign gifts during the Trump Administration, as well as the sources of those foreign gifts.’
The president, like other federal employees, is prohibited from accepting personal gifts from foreign governments and foreign officials, unless they are approved by Congress or they are below a $415 value. Gifts offered to the president or his family by foreign entities become property of the U.S. government and are turned over to the National Archives after they are reported to the State Department.
Though presidential travel in 2020 was limited due to Covid-19, Trump still went on trips to Switzerland and India where he received gifts that included a bust of Mahatma Gandhi, a marble replica of Gandhi’s ‘Three Monkeys’ statue and a spinning wheel
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is pictured with Donald and Melania Trump and the spinning wheel he gave them
Oversight Chair Rep. Carolyn Maloney wrote in a letter to the National Archives Tuesday announcing the committee’s investigation into ‘Trump’s apparent failure to account for gifts from foreign government officials while in office, as required by law’
Still, foreign dignitaries love to shower U.S. leaders with lavish presents – Trump and First Lady Melania Trump received nearly three dozen gifts totaling $81,385 which were turned over to the National Archives in 2018.
That year, French President Emmanuel Macron offered Trump a Louis Vuitton golf bag and some photos worth $8,275 and the prime minister of Vietnam gave Trump a $3,100 framed portrait of himself.
The State Department revealed in April of this year that the Trump administration had not provided information about gifts from foreign governments in 2020 received by Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence and other White House officials.
State Department officials have since told the committee that its gift vault was left in ‘complete disarray’ by the Trump administration.
Though presidential travel in 2020 was limited due to Covid-19, Trump still went on trips to Switzerland and India where he received gifts that included a bust of Mahatma Gandhi, a marble replica of Gandhi’s ‘Three Monkeys’ statue and a spinning wheel.
Other unrecorded gifts include those that Saudi Arabia offered to the president and his officials during his first official trip to the nation in 2017. The letter notes that the New York Times reported that 82 gifts were given to Trump administration officials. The Times also reports that nine of the ‘most expensive’ presents, which include three furs, three swords and three daggers, were sent to be assessed by the White House gifts unit but never occurred in the State Department’s legally required annual filings.
One day before Trump left office, the gifts were sent to the General Services Administration, the wrong agency.
The letter also notes that the State Department’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report in November 2021 revealing it was unable to determine what happened to a rare $5,800 whiskey offered to then-Sec. of State Mike Pompeo in 2019 and a 22-karat gold commemorative coin given to another State official.
One day before Trump left office, the gifts given by Saudi Arabia to Trump in May 2017 were sent to the General Services Administration, the wrong agency.
The letter notes that the New York Times reported that 82 gifts were given to Trump administration officials. The Times also reports that nine of the ‘most expensive’ presents, which include three furs, three swords and three daggers, were sent to be assessed by the White House gifts unit but never occurred in the State Department’s legally required annual filings
The OIG noted in a report last year that a ‘lack of accurate recordkeeping and appropriate physical security controls contributed to the loss’ of various gifts.
The OIG report noted that, for example, that the gift vault had no security camera footage to review and many individuals who had access to the vault had left government by the time of the review. It found that between August 2020 and January, at least 77 people had entered the vault more than 3,000 times.
Maloney said that the committee’s investigation would help it determine whether legislative reforms were necessary to ‘ensure records of foreign gifts to the president are preserved and made available to the public, and to prevent violations of the Emoluments Clause.’
The committee asked the National Archives to turn over all documents and communications related to foreign gifts received by Trump and his family members, including information on each gift’s value, location, who offered it and if there was any sort of payment.
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