Presents for Bo: President Can’t Keep Most Dog-Related Gifts from Foreign Leaders

On May 24, the Office of the Chief of Protocol released a list of gifts that were accepted by President Obama and other high officials from foreign leaders in 2010. From Doris Leuthard, President of the Swiss Confederation, the President received a red leather dog collar and leash with silver-colored fastenings.  The circumstance justifying acceptance was that “non-acceptance would cause embarrassment to donor and U.S. Government.”  That was true of the other two dog-related gifts, one of which included a bronze water-dog statue (presumably a Portuguese water dog), and a ceramic dog statue from Poland. 

Under federal law, 5 U.S.C. 7342, federal employees, including the President, Vice President, their wives and dependents, are not to accept gifts from foreign governments and are generally supposed to return them.  Congress recognizes, however, that refusing a gift may cause offense or embarrassment “or otherwise adversely affect foreign relations of the United States,” so in such a case, the employee is to turn the item over to his or her employing agency, which may find a use for it or pass it on to the General Services Administration. A gift of “minimal value tendered and received as a souvenir or mark of courtesy” may be retained, however. Minimal value is $100 or less.   

The only item that the President retained for himself was the Polish dog statue, presumably because it was valued at less than $100 (though the overall gift was more).  Thus, the leather dog collar and leash from Switzerland apparently went into the archives, as did the bronze Portuguese water-dog statue.  The collar and leash might have been useful, while the water-dog statue might have actually looked like Bo, the current White House dog. Unfortunately for the President and his family, some assessment must have determined that each was worth more than $100.   

These gifts were trivial in amount compared to some sent to high officials.  Hillary Clinton, then Secretary of State, received an emerald and diamond bracelet, necklace, earrings, and ring from His Royal Highness King Abdullah bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.  These items were valued at $400,000.  By contrast, the most valuable gift that President Obama got was a metal panel with cityscape view of Singapore, which was valued at $9,000.

The Office of the Chief of Protocol lists the jewelry Hillary received from the Saudi prince as “pending transfer to the General Services Administration.” The statute (5 U.S.C. 7342(c)(2)) provides that the official has 60 days from accepting the gift to turn it over to his or her employing agency or, subject to the approval of the employing agency, deposit the gift with that agency for official use. Thus, Hillary could not offend the Saudi prince and wear the jewelry for 60 days before turning it over to the State Department, which, finding no official use (presumably John Kerry gave no serious consideration to wearing the items), is passing it on to the GSA. 

Below is a table of the dog-related gifts received by the President in 2010, as well as the most valuable gift recorded for that year.    

Dog-Related Gifts to President Obama	Estimated Value /Disposition	Donor	Circumstances Justifying Acceptance
Longines silver-colored watch with brown band, presented in brown presentation box. Red leather dog collar and leash with silver-colored fastenings Rec’d—4/14/2010.	$2,604.00 Archives Foreign	Doris Leuthard, President of the Swiss Confederation.	Non-acceptance would cause embarrassment to donor and U.S. Government.
W&J Graham’s Port 1961 Single Harvest Tawny Port set, containing wine in red leather bottle holder and an informational booklet, presented in a rectangular wooden box that has ‘‘Graham’s Single Harvest 1961’’ carved into top and sides. Set of four Atlantis crystal wine glasses and one crystal decanter presented in 11″ × 23″ × 10″ wooden box. Two bottles of Quinta de Noval 2008 Vintage Porto wine. Bronze water-dog statue on wooden base Rec’d—11/19/2010.	$1,140.78 Box is in White House Gift Office; Perishable Goods Handled Pursuant to U.S. Secret Service Policy.	Professor Anı´bal Cavaco Silva, President of the Portuguese Republic.	Non-acceptance would cause embarrassment to donor and U.S. Government.
4.5″ × 6″ black and white ceramic Cmielow dog figurine, presented in a wooden presentation box. Book, title: ‘‘Fryderyk Chopin.’’ 2.5″ × 3″ circular miniature portrait of Chopin in a Burl Veneer frame. Two holiday ornaments. Rec’d—12/8/2010.	$594.00 Ceramic Dog Retained by President Obama.	His Excellency Bronislaw Komorowski, President of the Republic of Poland.	Non-acceptance would cause embarrassment to donor and U.S. Government.
Most Valuable Gift of 2010 (to Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State)
Emerald and diamond bracelet, necklace, earrings, and ring. Rec’d—2/15/2010.	$400,000 Pending Transfer to General Services Administration	His Royal Highness King Abdullah bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.	Non-acceptance would cause embarrassment to donor and U.S. Government.

The statute (5 U.S.C. 7342(f)(1)) provides that not later than January 31 of each year, “each employing agency or its delegate shall compile a listing of all statement filed during the preceding year by the employees of that agency … and shall transmit such listing to the Secretary of State who shall publish a comprehensive listing of all such statements in the Federal Register.”  Since the gifts from 2010 are being published at least two years after the January 31 deadline, either the agencies are not getting information to the State Department, or the State Department is dallying around before publishing the lists in the Federal Register. There's probably nothing nefarious here, but it will be interesting to see if any Republicans think so.     

78 Fed. Reg. 31714 (May 24, 2013).    

In 2014, the State Department reported only one dog-related gift in 2013,two 8: x 5" multi-colored porcelain Chinese temple dogs estimated to be worth $450.  They were received by the President on March 26, 2013 from "His Excellency Wang Qishan, Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Par of China.  "Non-acceptance would cause embarrassment to donor and U.S. Government."