Trump failed to disclose gifts, raising questions about foreign influence

SExtensive gifts that Trump received from foreign governments remain unaccounted, raising questions about whether the State Department was required to disclose the gifts.

According to a report of Democrats on House Committee on Oversight and Accountability on Tuesday, more than 100 gifts from foreign countries were not reported by Trump’s administration. These gifts included gifts valued at thousands and some that had been given to his family members. Members of the committee are critical of Trump’s inability to report on foreign gifts. They question whether Trump was influenced by the gifts.

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“Failures to disclose gifts from foreign governments were much broader than previously known and extended throughout the Trump administration,” In their Friday report, lawmakers included their thoughts. “The discovery of these unreported foreign gifts raises significant questions about why former President Trump failed to disclose these gifts to the public.”

Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act bans the president and all federal officials from accepting gifts worth more than $415. If the accepted gift is more than that amount, it becomes the property the United States government. This must be documented through the National Archives.

Any gift exceeding the minimum value must also be disclosed to the public and reported directly to the State Department. The State Department then compiles an annual report in Federal Register.

According to the report, the Trump administration reported foreign gifts that were given to Trump and his family members between 2017-2019. These included 76 by Trump, 41 by first lady, 15 each by Jared Kushner (ex-senior adviser), and 12 by Ivanka Trump. However, Trump and the first lady were not given any gifts by the White House during 2020. This report puts the final number at zero.

Federal officials raised concerns in the wake of a November 2021 report by the Office of the Inspector General of the State Department indicating that the Trump administration was not being held to account. “missing items of a significant value” These were presented to the president. The report concluded that “lack of accurate recordkeeping and appropriate physical security controls contributed to the loss of the gifts.”

The State Department stated in April 2022 that they could not account Trump’s 2020 gifts, noting that the Executive Office of the President did not provide a compiled list. The report states that the Office of the Chief of Protocol attempted to gather the data required after Trump’s resignation, but was unsuccessful.

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee wrote a June 2022 letter to the Archives requesting information on Trump’s foreign gifts. The panel found internal White House records that show Trump’s administration did not report any foreign gifts he received in 2020, but also throughout his four-year presidency.

The report stated that Trump’s family received 117 foreign gifts unreported and valued at approximately $291,000. However, lawmakers also noted that some gifts were still missing.

One of these gifts that the Archives are unable find is a “larger-than-life-sized painting of President Trump that the President of El Salvador” According to the report, he was gifted the gift just before the 2020 election.

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Lawmakers are worried about foreign gifts not being disclosed. “foreign leaders used gifts to win favor” While Trump was in office, he had a few things to do with Trump. Several unreported gifts included items from President Xi Jinping of China, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman Saudi Arabia and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India.

“The Trump Administration’s failure to disclose more than one hundred foreign gifts President Trump and his family received raises new questions about whether these and other gifts may have been used by foreign governments to influence U.S. policy under President Trump,” The legislature wrote. “The Committee is seeking additional records regarding these gifts and their potential impact on U.S. policy.”