Washington DC: The ultra-wealthy Saudi royal family gifted former President Donald Trump and his team luxurious cheetah and tiger robes. Among the Saudi bounty were “three robes made with white tiger and cheetah fur, and a dagger with a handle that appeared to be ivory” The New York Times reported.
The expensive presents were given to Trump during his 2017 trip to Saudi Arabia, his first overseas presidential visit.
Initially, the White House counsel’s office warned that if the fur was indeed real, the White House risked being in violation of the Endangered Species Act, the 1973 environmental conservation law.
On the last full day of Trump’s presidency, the White House handed them over to the General Services Administration — the wrong agency — rather than the US Fish and Wildlife Service, which seized the gifts this summer.
And once the robes (and a dagger with what appeared to be an ivory handle also gifted to Trump during that 2017 visit) finally made their way to the proper agency for inspection, they turned out to be imitations. However, it is unknown whether the Saudis were aware the fur was dyed.
“Wildlife inspectors and special agents determined the linings of the robes were dyed to mimic tiger and cheetah patterns and were not comprised of protected species,” Interior Department spokesman Tyler Cherry told The New York Times.
As for the dagger, the Interior Department said its handle “appears to possibly contain tooth or bone of some variety” but couldn’t immediately determine a species.
In addition to the robes, The Saudi royals also gifted Trump’s son-in-law and White House advisor Jared Kushner, who maintained a close relationship with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, five items including two swords and a dagger all valued at over $47,000. Kushner eventually paid the US government back for the items out of his own pocket.
The State Department’s inspector general is investigating allegations that Trump’s political appointees walked off with gift bags worth thousands of dollars that were meant for foreign leaders at the Group of 7 summit planned for Camp David in Maryland in 2020, which was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The bags contained dozens of items purchased with government funds, including leather portfolios, pewter trays and marble trinket boxes emblazoned with the presidential seal or the signatures of Trump and his wife, Melania.
from World – India News, Breaking News | India.com https://ift.tt/3asBSkj
