Donald Trump's family evaded reporting lavish foreign gifts, House Dems seek records
Washington DC - Former President Donald Trump and members of his family failed to disclose more than 100 foreign gifts valued above a reporting threshold and collectively worth more than $250,000, per a new report released by House Democrats.
The dazzling haul of gifts, many from foreign leaders, are detailed in a report by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee. They include a book set from President Xi Jinping of China, and golf clubs that then-prime minister Shinzo Abe of Japan gave the luxury-loving commander-in-chief.
The 15-page report said Trump also failed to report a $12,000 silk carpet from Uzbekistan’s president, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, and a $35,000 dagger with an ivory handle from Qatar’s ruler, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
A "larger-than-life" painting of Trump from the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, is also unaccounted for, the report said. Some of the gifts, including the portrait, are missing, the Democrats say.
"Committee Democrats are committed to determining the final whereabouts of these missing big-ticket gifts," said Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat and the ranking member of the oversight committee.
Raskin added that the report’s findings illuminate the Trump White House’s "brazen disregard for the rule of law and its systematic mishandling of large gifts from foreign governments."
Spokespeople for Trump did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The analysis also listed unreported foreign gifts to Trump family members, including Melania Trump, Jared Kushner, and Ivanka Trump.
Kushner received a sword from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, and Ivanka Trump scored a teddy bear valued at $1,200 from Chancellor Sebastian Kurz of Austria, according to the report.
The report said that the discoveries raise questions about whether "gifts may have been used by foreign governments to influence US policy under President Trump" and that the committee was seeking additional records.
Cover photo: Collage: Yuki IWAMURA / AFP / Anna Moneymaker / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP