WASHINGTON — Donald Trump sent Monday a gold-painted golf ball to the National Archives and Records Administration. This was after House Democrats criticised him for not reporting more than 100 gifts he received from foreign leaders during his presidency.
The National Archives did not immediately respond to a query about whether or not the golf club arrived.
House Democrats have criticized Trump’s inability to pass on gifts to the government due to their potential influence over his foreign policy. Trump claimed he didn’t have to report the $3,755 golf driver because he received the gift in November 2016, as President-elect.
“I am happy to report that we were able, after a thorough search, to locate the gold (paint!) Trump stated in the post that Shinzo Abe, my friend and former Prime Minister of Japan gave me the driver. It was found in a locker at Trump International Golf Club, Palm Beach County, Florida.
Trump claimed he has never used the club. Golf Digest cited a Politico report that Trump was seen swinging the club at a driving course.
Trump has had disputes with the National Archives over foreign gifts. For more than a full year, the agency sought documents from Trump’s administration under the Presidential Records Act. The FBI searched Mar-a-Lago in Florida for documents and found thousands, many with classified markings.
Jack Smith, a special counsel for the Justice Department, is currently investigating the documents in search of criminal charges. Trump returned to the club a week after being arraigned in New York for falsifying business records.
Here’s what we know about gifts:
An inspector general’s report found that Trump and his family failed report more than 100 gifts totaling more than $250,000 to the State Department between 2017 and 2019. A second report, dated April 2022, found that the department could not fully account for gifts received during 2020, the last year of Trump’s administration.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, a top Democrat on House Oversight and Accountability Committee from Maryland, released the findings last month. He warned that foreigners could influence U.S. policies if presidents don’t report any valuable gifts they received in office.
The General Services Administration and National Archives and Records Administration are supposed be responsible for tracking gifts reported through State Department. However, the report states that this didn’t occur.
Steven Cheung (Trump spokesman) has refuted the findings of the report. He claimed that House Democrats conspired with National Archives accomplices to conceal the disclosures.
The Committee Democrats reported gifts that Trump received from his family, which lawmakers claimed were reported to the State Department but not purchased by the recipients or given to government agencies.
According to Democrats, the following gifts were not found by the agencies or received:
- Items from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, totaling more than $45,000, including three items for Trump and one for his wife, Melania Trump, former first lady. Two sword sets and a $24,000 Saudi dagger were included in the gift, which was worth $8,800.
- From El Salvador: a “larger-than-life-sized” painting of Trump.
- Japan: In addition to the driver who is “gold”, there are a putter worth $460 and a driver worth $3,040.
- India: 17 items totaling $47,000, including an $8500 vase, a $4600 model of Taj Mahal, and $1,900 cufflinks.
Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act demands disclosure of gifts exceeding a minimum value to the president, vice-president and their families. The White House compiles this list and gives it to the State Department. This State Department publishes an annually updated list.
Unless the recipient purchases them, the government usually keeps the gifts. According to General Services Administration records, Jared Kushner (the president’s son in law) bought five gifts from Saudi Arabia.
However, the committee Democrats claim that the White House demanded the National Archives to return a variety of foreign gifts. According to the report, there was no record by the archives of any other gifts.
By: Bart Jansen
Title: Donald Trump says missing gold golf club sent to Archives after Democrats criticized him for not reporting gifts
Sourced From: golfweek.usatoday.com/2023/04/11/donald-trump-gold-golf-club-national-archives-japan/
Published Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2023 14:00:43 +0000
Leave a Reply