Former President Trump on Tuesday said a gold-painted golf club given to him by the late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is being sent to the National Archives, after Trump and his family were criticized for failing to report gifts from foreign governments.
“I am pleased to report that after a search, we were able to find the gold (paint!) Driver given to me by my friend & former Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe. It was in a locker, with other clubs, at Trump International Golf Club in Palm Beach County, Florida. It has never been used,” Trump said on his social media platform.
“Based on the fact that this club was given to me before entering office, I am told that there are no reporting requirements, but I am nevertheless forwarding it to NARA. My company buys thousands of clubs a year!” Trump said.
Democrats on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee released a report last month that criticized the former president and his family for failing to disclose more than 100 gifts from foreign governments during his time in the White House, with a total worth near $300,000.
Gifts a foreign head of state are the property of the American people, according to the Archives. A president can retain some gifts from foreign private citizens under $415, and gifts over that amount must be declared on the president’s taxes if he keeps them.
Trump’s move to hand the club over to the Archives comes as Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith investigates his handling of classified materials.
An FBI search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Fla. turned up classified materials kept past his time in office. The Presidential Records Act requires presidential materials be turned over to the Archives for safekeeping after an administration leaves the White House.
Trump is dealing with other legal woes in Manhattan, and pleaded not guilty earlier this month to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. He’s the first U.S. president to face criminal charges.