For around $300,000
Trump is said to have concealed more than 100 gifts
03/18/2023, 01:30 am
Golden golf clubs, jewels and a larger-than-life portrait – during his tenure, former US President Trump probably stole a few gifts. According to a report, the Republican did not identify more than 100 gifts from abroad – worth more than a quarter of a million US dollars.
Former US President Donald Trump failed to properly declare gifts from abroad to him and his family worth more than a quarter million dollars during his tenure, according to a report by Democratic lawmakers. That’s the conclusion of the House Democrats’ committee responsible for overseeing government in a preliminary report. The gifts have a total value of 291,000 US dollars (almost 275,000 euros).
The preliminary report, titled “Saudi Arabian Swords, Indian Jewels, and a Larger-Scale Salvadoran Portrait of Donald Trump: The Trump Administration’s Failure to Disclose Large Gifts From Abroad,” lists numerous gifts from China, India, Israel, Japan, Austria, among others , Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and from the United Arab Emirates. By law, the president must declare gifts to him and his family that are worth more than $415, the report said. Such gifts are owned by the US government. However, for more valuable personal gifts, the recipient has the option to buy them from the government and keep them. In any case, the incumbent must declare it publicly. However, that did not happen in Trump’s case with regard to the gifts in question, it said. The Republican was US President from 2017 to 2021.
Among the unspecified gifts was a Saudi dagger valued at $24,000. According to the report, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who, among other things, led several delegations to the Middle East under Trump as a White House staffer, bought the dagger. On the other hand, the competent authority has no information about the whereabouts of other gifts, it said. This includes a larger-than-life portrait of Trump that the then President received as a gift from his counterpart in El Salvador. There is also no trace of golden golf clubs worth several thousand dollars that Trump received as a gift from then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The committee wanted to find out whether and what influence the undeclared gifts could have had on US foreign policy, the report said.