President’s receive gifts al the time….
They ARE supposed to report them so that it would NOT seem that the gift was given with something wanted or done in return….
The Supreme’s have ruled that absent a ‘favor’ in return ?
It is NOT a crime to accept them….
This instance seems to have a situation where some gifts where NOT reported and have disappeared….
As we have seen?
Donald Trump does have issues with ‘rules’….
The 15-page report, a result of a year-long investigation by the House Oversight Committee into Trump’s failure to disclose gifts from foreign government officials while in office, revealed that the Trump family did not disclose dozens of gifts from countries that are not U.S. allies or have a complicated relationship with Washington. That includes 16 gifts from Saudi Arabia worth more than $48,000, 17 gifts from India worth over $17,000, and at least 5 gifts from China. Trump reported zero gifts entirely the final year of his presidency, according to the report, while he reported some of the gifts received in previous years.
Trump repeatedly told advisers that gifts given to him during the presidency were his and did not belong to the federal government, former chief of staff John F. Kelly and other aides have previously told The Washington Post….
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A spokesperson for the National Archives said they cooperated with the report but declined to comment on its findings.
Ethics experts say the issues reflect a broader problem with enforcement of the emoluments clause of the Constitution that requires the president ask Congress for permission to accept a gift from a foreigner.
“If someone accepts a gift you are not allowed to take under the Constitution or government ethics rules, it’s not criminal,” said Richard Painter, the chief White House ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush. “But if anyone knowingly lied on the gift disclosure forms, that’s a violation of the false statements statue and that should be referred to the Department of Justice.”…
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While there are no records of Trump personally purchasing any of the foreign gifts he received, other family members did legally purchase gifts. Correspondence obtained by committee investigators showed that at least one Trump family member sought to shroud the acquisition….
Note…
Gifts over $415 must be ‘purchased’ to be kept….