The U.S. Congress is investigating the Trump administration’s concealment of gifts from foreign governments

Democrats in the lower chamber of the U.S. Congress have launched an investigation into the possible concealment of valuable gifts from foreign government representatives by members of former President Donald Trump’s administration. A statement to that effect was published on the website of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

According to the document, State Department officials had previously notified committee members that Trump administration officials in the final year of his presidential term “did not prioritize fulfilling obligations” to report receiving gifts from foreign officials. This raised suspicions among Democrats on the lower House committee about “possible improper influence by foreign governments on President Trump that may have jeopardized national security and U.S. foreign policy interests.”

Under U.S. law, U.S. officials are only allowed to accept gifts from foreign governments on behalf of the administration. In this case, if the value of the gift exceeds $415, representatives of the administration are obliged to transfer it to the property of the U.S. government. Reporting of receipt of gifts must be submitted to the State Department.

In April of this year, the State Department reported that its staff was unable to compile a complete list of gifts received by the Trump administration from foreign representatives. In particular, the U.S. Department of State was unable to identify the officials who received gifts from representatives of foreign governments, and did not find data on who exactly gave valuable gifts to U.S. officials.