Trump and his family didn't report $300,000 in gifts - including a giant ... trends now
A giant portrait of former President Donald Trump that was offered to the White House by the president of El Salvador is among gifts totaling $300,000 that have either gone missing or unreported, according to Oversight Committee Democrats.
The portrait was presented as a gift from Salvadoran President Nayib. He forwarded it to the Trump-appointed ambassador to the country, Ron Johnson, a veteran CIA officer.
He sent along the image to an aide to to Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, writing that it was 'packed up and ready to ship to President Trump.'
'I just need to know where to ship it,' Johnson added.
Trump aide Molly Michael asked 'what is the best to ship to?'
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released a report stating that former President Donald Trump and family members failed to report gifts totaling nearly $300,000
Kushner himself wrote, simply: 'Can we take care of this – very nice.'
An image contained in an appendix shows the Salvadorian president giving a thumbs up next to a portrait of Trump which begins at the knees. The president's head is slightly higher than the president's making the portrait the size of a grown man.
Government rules require officials to report gifts received in official duties to the State Department, which retains them and records their value.
The Trump White House 'failed to report over 100 foreign gifts that were given to the President and the First Family and were above the reporting threshold, including some gifts valued at thousands of dollars,' according to the staff report, produced over a year by the committee where Rep. Jamie Raskin is now the top Democrat.
'The Committee discovered 16 unreported gifts to the Trump family with a total value of more than $45,000, including three gifts to President Trump and one gift to the President and First Lady. The unreported gifts included a Saudi dagger valued at up to $24,000 and two sword sets with a total value of $8,800. General Services Administration (GSA) records showed that Mr. Kushner purchased and retained five Saudi gifts, including the dagger,' according to the report.
According to the Democratic report, 'There are no records of the painting’s disposition. The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) had no records of this painting and GSA also had no records for the purchase of this gift.'
