The House Oversight Committee is investigating if former president Trump stole gifts from foreign leaders during his final year in office.
The Oversight Committee wrote to the National Archives:
The Oversight Committee is investigating former President Trump’s apparent failure to account for gifts from foreign government officials while in office, as required by law. Information provided to the Committee by the Department of State indicates the Trump Administration “did not prioritize this obligation” and failed to comply with the law governing foreign gift reporting during President Trump’s final year in office. As a result, the foreign sources and monetary value of gifts President Trump received remain unknown.Â
The Committee has also learned that the Trump Administration mismanaged gifts from foreign sources during President Trump’s term and left the State Department’s gift vault in “complete disarray.” These revelations raise concerns about the potential for undue influence over former President Trump by foreign governments, which may have put the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States at risk, and about possible violations of the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause, which prohibits the president from obtaining benefits from foreign entities while in office.
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
It is illegal for a president to keep a gift from a foreign leader worth more than $50 without the consent of Congress. Multiple laws have been passed such as the Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act of 1966, that govern what presidents can accept from foreign leaders.
The gift vault from the State Department was described as being in “disarray” when Trump left office, and there is no accurate accounting of the gifts that Trump received during his final year in office.
Trump and other White House officials disregarded the law that they don’t seem to have attempted to follow it. This behavior was the norm for a president and administration that considered itself above the law. If Trump stole the gifts, it was a crime, and he should be prosecuted.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
