March 17 (UPI) — Former President Donald Trump and his family failed to report gifts worth more than $250,000 given by foreign countries during his presidency, House Democrats said in a report Friday.
The missing items include a $3,755 gold golf club given to Trump by former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and a “a larger-than-life-sized painting” of Trump given to him by El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, according to the report.
In total, the Trump White House failed to disclose more than 100 gifts, valued at more than $250,000, that had been given to Trump, his wife, Melania, daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner.
“If the president doesn’t comply with the Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act, it just becomes the Foreign Grifts Act and masks potential violations of the Constitution’s foreign Emoluments Clause, which was the Founders’ essential antidote to bribery by princes, kings and foreign powers,” Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin said in a statement. “It’s so much in Donald Trump’s character to violate the entire regime governing gifts from foreign states.”
Administration officials are required to provide a list of gifts received to the State Department. According to the report, the State Department said the Executive Office of the President failed to provide a listing of foreign gifts for 2020.
House Democrats said failing to report the gifts can violate the Emoluments Clause, which prohibits presidents from obtaining benefits from foreign entities while in office.
The committee will continue to investigate where the gifts went and determine if any laws should be changed.
“We also will assess whether legislative reforms are needed to ensure foreign gift records are reported and American constitutional values and boundaries are no longer trampled,” Raskin said.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.