The US Department of State is investigating allegations that Donald Trump-appointed aides stole goodie bags meant for foreign dignitaries attending the 2020 G7 summit which was later cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
A New York Times investigation revealed that expensive gifts, intended for foreign leaders who were supposed to attend the summit at Camp David, went missing. The State Department’s Inspector General is investigating these allegations.
The goodie bags contained dozens of expensive items purchased using government funds and included leather portfolios, pewter trays, and marble trinket boxes emblazoned with the presidential seal or signatures of Mr Trump and his wife, Melania Trump.
The report also revealed that the Inspector General is still pursuing the whereabouts of a $5,800 bottle of Japanese whiskey given to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Mr Pompeo has, however, said that he never received it.
The State Department also wants to know the whereabouts of a 22-carat gold chain given to an official.
The Times reported that nonpartisan career officials saw their political-appointee colleagues making off with the goodie bags from the department’s gift vault during the transition to the Biden administration.
Several ethics experts said that the missing goodie bags reflected larger issues with the Trump presidency.
Stanley M Brand, a criminal defence lawyer, ethics expert and a former top lawyer for the House of Representatives was quoted as saying: “Whether this was indifference, sloppiness or the Great Train Robbery, it shows such a cavalier attitude to the law and the regular process of government.”
The State Department, meanwhile, said in a statement that it “takes seriously its role in reporting the disposition of certain gifts received by US government employees” and that it was “investigating the whereabouts of gifts that are unaccounted for and the circumstances that led to their disappearance.”
