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TAXLA95
PM-Clintons' Taxes, Bjt,620
Clintons Expect $14,000 Tax Refund
By LAWRENCE L. KNUTSON= Associated Press Writer=
WASHINGTON (AP) Meeting Monday's tax deadline, President Clinton is
entitled to a substantial refund but will apply a little more than half of it
to next year's taxes.
The 1994 tax tab for Clinton and his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, is
$55,313 on joint income of $263,900. The refund: $14,418.
The presidential couple joined the 36 million Americans who were expected
to file in the final days and hours of the tax season. They wrapped up final
details of their return in a meeting with their accountant and tax attorney
Thursday night.
The help didn't come cheap. The Clintons paid $10,000 for legal and
accounting work that went into preparing their tax returns and other issues.
An additional $3,000 went to lawyers who prepared their annual financial
disclosure form.
The Clintons overpaid their taxes by $14,418, and elected to apply $7,500
of that amount to their 1995 tax bill. They should get
a refund check for $6,918.
For the Clintons, the tax bite works out to 21 percent of adjusted gross
income. That places them among the 1.2 percent of well-off Americans paying
more because of the deficit-reduction law that Clinton pushed through Congress
in 1993.
Not that the president is complaining.
White House press secretary Mike McCurry, in fact, used the release of the
Clintons' tax returns Friday as a launching pad for
a new denunciation of Republican tax-cut proposals that the Democrats argue
would unfairly profit the wealthy.
It's clear from their returns that they would be enormous beneficiaries
of tax cuts as proposed by the Republican majority in Congress and the
president
thinks that that's unfair and that tax relief ought to be
targeted on middle-income Americans, McCurry told reporters. As you can
see from their return, they fall outside that category.
Most of the Clintons' income came from the president's $200,000 salary,
supplemented by $38,000 in capital gains on holdings in their blind trust and
$21,000 in interest and dividends.
They also got $1,421 in residuals for Clinton's 1992 appearance on the
Arsenio Hall'' television show and $259 in belated royalties for an article
Mrs. Clinton wrote for Harvard University 22 years ago.
For the second straight year, their dividends and interest included
$12,000 for Mrs. Clinton from a pin money'' fund for first ladies set up in
the 1912 will of Henry G. Freeman Jr.
Freeman wrote that he set up the fund because the president of the
United States receives such a miserable pittance for a man holding the
greatest position on earth.'
Because of the way the will was written, Mrs. Clinton is the first
presidential wife to benefit. But for the second year in a row she plans to
donate the money to charity.
Overall, the Clintons reported $30,000 in charitable contributions during
1994. They declined to say which charity got what. But McCurry said the
Clintons contributed to 28 organizations, with most of the money going to
their churches.
The Clintons filed a separate return for their 15-year-old daughter,
Chelsea, showing taxes of $911 on income of $6,678. The bulk of the money came
from royalties on an autobiography by Clinton's mother, the late Virginia
Kelley. The book, Leading With My Heart, was dedicated to Chelsea.
The White House also released federal tax returns for Vice President Al
Gore and his wife, Tipper. They showed income of $414,705 and taxes of
$142,688. Some $221,000 of the income came from royalties on the sales of
Gore's best-selling book, Earth in the Balance.
THE NEW YORK TIMES, SATURDAY, APRIL 15, 1995
Clintons Earn Less but Donate More
By TODD S. PURDUM
amounted to less than the $6,350
expenses that would make it worth-
standard deduction available to
while to itemize deductions, in part
WASHINGTON, April 14 - Both
are baby-boomer Southerners with
married couples filing jointly (which
because Tennessee has no state in-
equals just 1.5 percent of their in-
come tax. They have a mortgage on
Ivy League educations and six-fig-
ure incomes. But Vice President Al
come).
their home in Virginia, but now rent
Gore disclosed some big differences
To be fair, $12,000 of the money the
the house out as income-producing
with President Clinton when they
Clintons gave away was given to
property and so cannot claim the
them as a gift in the first place,
home mortgage interest, Ms. Voles
released their 1994 income tax re-
proceeds from the private Henry G.
said. They also have a small mort-
turns today: Mr. Gore earned quite a
bit more last year and was a lot less
Freeman Jr. Pin Money Fund, estab-
gage on property in Tennessee,
lished in 1912 for the benefit of First
which, even combined with whatever
generous.
Ladies. The fund made its first
charitable contributions they made,
Mr. Clinton and his wife, Hillary,
claimed $30,125 in charitable contri-
payout in 1993, after litigation over
would still not exceed the $6,350
Mr. Freeman's estate was resolved
standard deduction, she added. She
butions, or 11 percent of their adjust-
ed gross income of $263,900, with
following the death of his last known
said the same was true last year.
heir.
The gift from the Pin Money Fund
most of it, their aides said, given to
Counting only the $18,000 of their
lifted the Clintons' charitable contri-
churches they attend.
own earnings that they gave away,
butions, the single largest deduction
By contrast, Mr. Gore and his
the Clintons still donated nearly 7
they claimed, from the $17,000 on
wife, Tipper, claimed no itemized
deductions on their adjusted gross
percent of their adjusted gross in-
their 1993 return. Their next biggest
come to charity. They did not release
deduction for 1994 was $10,000 in
income of $411,713. The reason, an
aide said, was that all the itemized
the list of charities to which they
legal and tax preparation expenses
contributed, but the White House
for their 1993 returns.
deductions they might have taken,
spokesman, Michael D. McCurry,
Mr. McCurry said none of that
including charitable contributions,
said most of the money had gone to
money had gone for lawyers' fees to
churches.
defend the President against the sex-
Over all, the Clintons paid $55,313
ual harassment lawsuit filed by
in Federal taxes, or 21 percent of
Paula C. Jones or the Whitewater
their adjusted gross income. They
investigation.
overpaid by $14,418 and chose to
The Clintons also filed a return
apply about half of the overpayment
paying taxes of $911 for their 15-
to next year's bill.
year-old daughter, Chelsea, who re-
The Gores paid $142,688 in Federal
ceived $6,678 in royalties from the
taxes, or 35 percent of their adjusted
autobiography of the President's
gross income, and chose to apply all
mother, Virginia Kelley, who died
of a $4,881 overpayment to their 1995
last year.
taxes. More than half their earnings
- $259,013 - came from Mr. Gore's
best-selling book on the environ-
ment, "Earth in the Balance." His
Vice-Presidential salary is $171,500;
Mr. Clinton receives $200,000 as
President.
Mr. Gore's press secretary, Lor-
raine Voles, declined to comment on
the contrast between the Clinton and
Gore returns for 1994. She noted that
Mr. Gore donated $50,000 to the Uni-
versity of Tennessee in 1992 to estab-
lish a chair in environmental studies
in honor of his late sister, Nancy.
That amounted to virtually his entire
contribution to charity of $52,558 that
year.
Despite their relatively high in-
come, the Gores have few of the
First family gets tax refund
WASHINGTON, April 14 (UPI) The first family overpaid their 1994 income
taxes and are due a big refund, tax returns showed Friday.
President Clinton and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton paid $55,313 in
federal taxes on income of $263,900.
Other than the $200,000-a-year presidential salary, the Clintons collected
interest on investments and royalties for their daughter Chelsea from the book
Leading With My Heart, which was written by her grandmother Virginia
Kelley.
Records showed a tax overpayment of $14,418. The first family elected to
put $7,500 of that sum toward 1995 taxes and take a refund of $6,918.
Meanwhile, Vice President Al Gore and wife Tipper paid $142,688 in federal
income taxes for 1994. The Gores' income totaled $414,705 last year, including
the $171,500 the vice president is paid, according to their tax returns also
filed Friday.
The Gores derived their other income from the vice president's book,
Earth in the Balance, and investment income from a zinc mine in Tennessee.
The Gores also receive income from rental property, records showed.
White House press secretary Mike McCurry told reporters that deductions
included $10,000 in expenses to the law firm of Williams and Connolly for tax
preparations and related legal fees.
He said Clinton's legal fees relating to the Whitewater affair and the
Paula Jones lawsuit are being handled by an independent defense fund.
Another $3,000 was paid to an accounting firm in Little Rock for
preparation of 1993 financial disclosure forms.
McCurry said the Clintons contributed to 28 charitable organizations, the
large majority went to where the Clintons worship.
The president pays local and state taxes in Arkansas. He apparently is
exempt from District of Columbia taxes.
Asked how he felt about the returns, McCurry said that Clinton
expressed the opinion that if the House Republican tax-cut bill was in
effect, they would be the beneficiaries.
But he added, that Clinton does not feel that's fair'' because of the
tax breaks for the rich. People in that category would get a
disproportionate share, he said.
****
filed by:UPI-(us) on 04/14/95 at 15:38EST ****
**** printed by:WHPR(JEL) on 04/17/95 at 08:55EST ****
BC-Clintons-and-Gores-to-Get-Tax-Refunds
Clintons and Gores to Get Tax Refunds From the IRS (Update1)
(Adds details, clarification, McCurry quote)
Washington, April 14 (Bloomberg) -- President Bill Clinton and Hillary
Rodham Clinton paid $69,731 in taxes last year, an overpayment, and are due a
refund of $14,418, according to their 1994 federal tax returns, which the
Clintons filed yesterday.
Vice President Al Gore and his wife Tipper Gore paid $147,569 in taxes and
are claiming a refund of $4,881, according to their returns.
The Clintons don't feel over-taxed, said White House press secretary Mike
McCurry.
Its clear from their returns that they would be enormous beneficiaries
of tax cuts as proposed by the Republican majority in Congress, McCurry
said. The president thinks that that is unfair and that tax relief ought to
be targeted on middle income Americans, and as you can see from their return
they fall outside that category.
On his Form 1040, Bill Clinton listed his occupation as `U.S.
President, while his wife listed hers as. fattorney.
As president, Bill Clinton earned the legally-mandated presidential salary
of $200,000 in 1994. He also got a residual payment of $1,421 from his 1992
appearance on the Arsenio Hall Show.
No Salary for Hillary
Hillary Clinton drew no salary, but received $12,000 in interest and
dividends from the Henry G. Freeman Jr. Pin Money Fund, an annual payment to
the nation's first lady, established under a 1912 will. All the money was
given to charity, the White House said. She reported a royalty payment of
$259 from Harvard University for a 1973 article in the Harvard Educational
Review.
The Clintons earned $17,140 in taxable interest income and $4,119 in
dividend income from assets that are now in a blind trust managed by Boston
Harbor Trust Co. The trust also reported unidentified short-term and long-term
capital gains of $38,014, and a real estate royalty payment of $1.00.
The Clintons also received a refund of $2,946 from their 1993 Arkansas
state taxes, for a total adjusted gross income of $263,900.
The president and first lady filed a joint return, claiming themselves and
daughter Chelsea Clinton as exemptions. They took deductions of $18,827 for
state, local, and real estate taxes, and $4,402 for home mortgage interest.
The Clintons are half-owners of her mother's home in Little Rock, Arkansas,
which they claim as their legal residence for voting and tax purposes.
They also claimed a $30,125 deduction for gifts to charities. The Clintons
didn't specify recipients, but McCurry said a large portion of it went to the
churches in which they worship.
Preparation Costs
Preparing their tax returns cost $18,378 in accounting and trust
management fees, including $10,000 paid to the Washington law firm of
Williams & Connally. McCurry said the payment was for legal advice on their
taxes and had no connection to work the firm has done for the Clintons
regarding the Whitewater and Paula Jones cases.
The total taxes owed by the Clintons came to $55,313, figured from the
Capital Gain Tax Worksheet. They had $69,731 in withholding and other payments
to the government, entitling them to a refund of $14,418.
The Clintons, however, will apply $7,500 of that to their 1995 taxes,
asking the Internal Revenue Service for a refund of $6,918.
Last year, they paid $62,670 in federal taxes on income of $293,757, and
got a refund of $7,982.
In addition to their taxes, the Clintons reported filing a federal income
tax return on behalf of their daughter, Chelsea, though it wasn't released.
She paid $911 in tax on income of $6,678. The money came from royalty
payments from sales of the book written by her late grandmother, the
president's mother, Virginia Kelley.
Vice President Gore, meanwhile, earned his federal salary of $171,500, and
$220, 782 in business income, primarily royalties from his book on the
environment, Earth In The Balance. The Gores also received $18,846 in
rental income and had $3,576 in interest income from bank accounts. Tipper
Gore had no salary income for 1994.
Their total taxes came to $142,688 after deductions, credits, and
adjustments to income. They had withholding of $147,569, and are due a refund
of $4,881.
--Mike McKee at the White House (202) 434-1895 /ba
(For more on the president, NI EXE; for more on taxes, NI TAX; on
politics: BBN45)
15:40 -0- (BBN) Apr/14/95 15:40 EOS (BBN) Apr/14/95 15:40 86
**** filed by:BB-F(--) on 04/14/95 at 15:46EST ****
**** printed by: WHPR (JEL) on 04/17/95 at 08:55EST ****
AM-Clintons' Taxes, Bjt, 610
Clintons Expect a Handsome Tax Refund
By NANCY BENAC= Associated Press Writer=
WASHINGTON (AP) Finishing up his taxes just before Monday's deadline,
President Clinton is in line for a handsome refund from Uncle Sam. The bottom
line for the Clintons: taxes of $55,313 on income of $263,900, with a refund
of $14,418 half of which they're applying to next year's bill.
Joining the 36 million Americans who were expected to file in the home
stretch of the tax season, the Clintons wrapped up final details of their
return in a meeting with their accountant and tax attorney Thursday night.
The president's tax bite works out to 21 percent of adjusted gross income,
placing Clinton among the 1.2 percent of Americans paying more because of the
deficit-reduction law he pushed through in 1993.
The president's not complaining.
In fact, his press secretary used the release of Clinton's tax returns
Friday to denounce anew Republican tax-cut proposals that the Democrats argue
would unfairly benefit the wealthy.
It's clear from their returns that they would be enormous beneficiaries
of tax cuts as proposed by the Republican majority in Congress and the
president
thinks that that's unfair and that tax relief ought to targeted
on middle-income Americans, Mike McCurry said. As you can see from their
return, they fall outside that category.
The bulk of the Clintons' income came from the president's $200,000
salary, supplemented by $38,000 in capital gains on holdings in their blind
trust and $21,000 in interest and dividends.
They also got $1,421 in residuals for Clinton's 1992 appearance on the
Arsenio Hall'' show and $259 in belated royalties for an article Hillary
Rodham Clinton wrote for Harvard University in 1973.
For the second straight year, their dividends and interest included
$12,000 for Mrs. Clinton from a pin money'' fund for first ladies set up in
the 1912 will of Henry G. Freeman Jr.
Freeman wrote that he set up the fund because the president of the
United States receives such a miserable pittance for a man holding the
greatest position on earth.'
Nonetheless, Mrs. Clinton plans to donate the money to charity.
Overall, the Clintons reported $30,000 in charitable contributions during
1994, but declined to publicly itemize their donations. McCurry said the
Clintons contributed to 28 organizations, with most of the money going to
their churches.
The Clintons filed a separate return for their 15-year-old daughter,
Chelsea, showing taxes of $911 on income of $6,678. The bulk of the money came
from royalties on an autobiography by Clinton's mother, the late Virginia
Kelley, that were dedicated to Chelsea.
The White House also released federal tax returns for Vice President Al
Gore and his wife, Tipper. They showed income of $414,705 and taxes of
$142,688. Some $221,000 came from royalties on the sale of Gore's best-selling
book, Earth in the Balance.
Other details from the Clintons' return:
They paid $10,000 to their attorney for legal and accounting work that
went into preparing their tax returns and other issues. They paid an
additional $3,000 to attorneys who prepared their annual financial disclosure
form.
They took a home mortgage interest deduction of $4,402 for Mrs. Clinton's
half-share in her mother's home in Little Rock, Ark., and a $62 personal
property deduction on a 1988 Oldsmobile the president owns in Arkansas.
The Clintons overpaid their taxes by $14,418, and elected to apply $7,500
of that amount to their 1995 tax bill. They should get
a refund check for $6,918.
**** filed by:APE-(--) on 04/14/95 at 14:55EST ****
THE WHITE HOUSE
Die
WASHINGTON
litaxes
September 10, 1993
MEMORANDUM FOR DAN BURKHARDT
SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE DIRECTOR OF
CORRESPONDENCE AND PRESIDENTIAL MESSAGES
FROM:
CHERYL MILLS line
ASSOCIATE COUNSEL TO THE PRESIDENT
SUBJECT:
Tax Implications of Gifts to the Principals
This memorandum responds to your inquiry of September 10, 1993,
regarding the tax implications of gifts to the President and the
First Family. In particular, you inquired whether the First
Family must pay taxes on the value of gifts sent to them by
members of the public.
Under the Internal Revenue Code, "property received as a gift
... is not includable in gross income." I.R.C. $ 1.102-1
(1986). A gift is property that is transferred out of "detached
and disinterested generosity, out of affection, respect,
admiration, charity or like impulses,' not due to "the
constraining force of any moral or legal duty," or "the incentive
of anticipated benefit." Commissioner V. Duberstein, 363 U.S.
278, 285 (1960).
The First Family, like other recipients of gifts, does not have
an obligation to pay taxes for gifts given for charitable or
selfless motivations. Gifts that the First Family receives at
the White House almost always, if not always, would fall into
this category.
It is unclear to me from where the confusion on this issue
arises. I suspect there may be confusion over the President's
obligation to disclose, as a pubic official, all gifts he accepts
whose value exceed $250. The disclosure requirement, however, is
unrelated to the tax code; rather, it is a provision of the
ethics laws for persons holding public office.
Please contact me if you have further questions.
cc: Tim Flynn
Capricia Marshall
Marsha Scott
Fill TAXES
HISTORY OF PRESIDENTIAL TAX PAYMENT ISSUES
BUSH
"Vice President Bush paid the Internal Revenue Service $198,000 in back taxes
and interest last June after the service ruled that he had failed to report about $500,000
in income from the sale of his house on his 1981 tax return and improperly used $29,000
in leftover campaign funds." (The New York Times, 10/4/84)
"Maine state Rep. Susan Dore (D) Sept. 18 called for an investigation into
charges that President Bush avoided paying income taxes to Maine. Speaking at a press
conference sponsored by the Independent Committee on Ethics PAC (ICEPAC), Dore
said she was calling for the investigation after discovering that Bush paid $ 15,122 in
state and 1ocal taxes OB his 1983 income, but did not pay income tax to Maine prior to or
after 1983." (Daily Report For Executives, 9/21/92)
REAGAN
"President and Mrs. Reagan paid more than $20,000 in back taxes and interest to
the federal government and the state of California last year after the Internal Revenue
Service disallowed claims on their 1978 and 1979 returns of business losses in the
operation of their Santa Barbara ranch, their tax lawyer confirmed yesterday."
(The Washington Post, 5/18/82)
"(The IRS) play(s) no favorites, recently nailing former president Ronald Reagan
a d his wife Nancy for an estimated $ 1 million in back taxes for free dresses, jewelry
and furs the former first lady accepted when they lived at the White House It's been
estimated the Reagans were given a tax bill for at least $ 960,243 in back taxes and
interest, more if a negligence penalty was levied." (The Toronto Star, 3/29/92)
CARTER
"Sumter County, Ga., tax officials have billed President Carter $1,445 for back
property taxes and interest as a result of a reappraisal of the Carter family peanut
business, White House officials said yesterday.
The reappraisal, according to documents released yesterday at the White House
and in Sumter County, found that in 1975 property owned by the peanut warehouse was
undervalued by $88,500, on which $700 in back taxes and $121 in interest is owned. In
1976, the reapprasial found, the property was undervalued by $167,800, on which $1,393
in back taxes and $116 in interest is owed." (The Washington Post, 11/22/78)
"Justice Department Special Counsel Paul J. Curran said Oct. 16 his investigation
into the finances of the Carter family peanut business had cleared President Carter and
his brother, Billy, of any criminal wrongdoing. In ending his inquiry, Curran said he
found "no evidence whatsoever" that money from loans to the Carter business from
National Bank of Georgia had been diverted to Carter's 1976 campaign." (Facts on File
World News Digest, 10/19/79)
NIXON
"In his last year in office, the Internal Revenue Service found Nixon obligated to
pay about $280,000 in taxes owed for 1970, 1971 and 1972. The agency also said he
should have paid $148,000 for 1969, although the statute of limitations had run out for
that year and he thus was no longer legally liable. Nonetheless, he promised to pay the
full amount of $432,787.13, which included penalties, for all those years.
On April 17, 1974, fewer than four months before his forced resignation, he paid the
$280,000 by check. But as far as this reporter can determine, after checks with
congressional sources familiar with the case and with the IRS, there is no public record
to show he repaid the promised $148,000 for 1969." (Washington Post, 2/20/83)
Copyright 1983 The Washington Post
The Washington Post
February 20, 1983, Sunday, Final Edition
SECTION: First Section; Haynes Johnson; A3
LENGTH: 1208 words
HEADLINE: Gates There Is, Too, a Way To Foil Sinister Forces In EPA Parking Lot
BYLINE: Haynes Johnson
BODY: The following item, published Wednesday on Page A15, three-fourths of the
way down the page in The Washington Post's "Around the Nation" column, under the
heading "Addenda," is herewith reprinted in its entirety:
Frank Wills, the security guard who discovered the Watergate break-in almost 11
years ago, was given a one-year prison term in Augusta, Ga., for shoplifting $17 tennis
shoes.
This is not going to be another exercise in wallowing in Watergate, although that
briefest of news items prompts thoughts about how justice sometimes works for the most,
and the least, powerful of our citizens. It leads one to wonder if Richard M. Nixon ever
settled that $148,000 sum in back taxes?
In his last year in office, the Internal Revenue Service found Nixon obligated to pay
about $280,000 in taxes owed for 1970, 1971 and 1972. The agency also said he should
have paid $148,000 for 1969, although the statute of limitations had run out for that year
and he thus was no longer legally liable. Nonetheless, he promised to pay the full
amount of $432,787.13, which included penalties, for all those years.
On April 17, 1974, fewer than four months before his forced resignation, he paid the
$280,000 by check. But as far as this reporter can determine, after checks with
congressional sources familiar with the case and with the IRS, there is no public record
to show he repaid the promised $148,000 for 1969.
All of which adds a certain perspective to Frank Wills' problems, and one more
footnote to Watergate. But there's another reason why the surfacing of Wills' name now
seems ironic for, like it or not, the shades of Watergate are being evoked again in
Washington.
It was inevitable, the nature of news being what it is and the collective memories of
Washington being what they are, that discovery of two paper shredders in the
Environmental Protection Agency offices that are the source of intense controversy
between White House and Congress would cause the present situation to be called, by
some, "Shreddergate."
They turned up only after EPA's boss, Anne M. Gorsuch, had become the first
Cabinet officer cited for contempt of Congress for withholding "sensitive" documents
from those offices under that familiar doctrine of "executive privilege." And they were
installed, and operated, at a time when other familiar-sounding charges were being
leveled--of cover-ups, obstruction of justice and stonewalling by the Reagan
administration on turning over subpoenaed documents, logs and even, it appears, tapes.
It is a pleasure to report that, appearances notwithstanding, all of this can be
explained easily. Through the courtesy of the House Public Works and Transportation
Committee, whose investigations subcommittee issued the subpoena that led to the
historic contempt of Congress vote against Gorsuch in December, three internal EPA
documents clarify everything.
They were drafted in a 24-hour period when existence of the shredders became public
knowledge little more than a week ago. Reading them, you'll see how innocent the whole
affair really is. You'll also have a clearer picture of the sort of mentality guiding EPA
these days. And you'll be reassured to see the crisp manner in which Gorsuch's agency
performs under pressure.
The documents are reprinted here, in abbreviated form, but exactly as written, as a
public service in an attempt to lay this unfortunate matter to rest.
First came a memo from William N. Hedeman Jr., director of EPA's Office of
Emergency and Remedial Response (OERR), to Michael A. Brown, acting assistant
administrator: Feb. 10: MEMORANDUM Subject: Paper Shredder Use Within OERR
The unit was intially located in Room S385C and later just outside that office in
an unlocked secretarial bay. The unit was not kept in a locked area. During normal
office hours, users of the unit could be observed by management and administrative staff,
which tended to control its use. No controls were instituted for off-duty hours, and no
records were kept on its use.
The primary custodian of the shredder was a senior agency employe who is very
familiar with proper custody of confidential documents and informally monitored use to
reduce the likelihood that indiscriminate or improper use could occur.
Although records do not exist that describe the specific documents shredded, the use
was essentially limited to obsolete forms and data sheets used in developing the National
Priority List (NPL) and obsolete proprietary contract proposals
Next, amid the flurry in the press about disclosure of EPA shredders, came the
following document, from a "Bob W. :"2/10 6:40 p.m. Shredder Update
The EPA's Inspector General's Office originally requested the shredders. They wanted
two
Four machines were delivered. The IG's Office told Procurement about their
mistake and sought assistance in finding another agency office with a need who could
take and pay for the extra machines. When OERR was approached by Procurement,
OERR recognized the usefulness of the machines for destroying losing bids on their
multimillion-dollar support contract. OERR's admin. officer thought OWPE might also
have a need, and persuaded OWPE of this need.
I believe my discussion with J. Yamada will result in the appropriate investigation in
OLEC to confirm the continued presence of the "witheld" sic documents. Without a log
or any security on the machines, I doubt we can establish that no documents requested
but not yet evaluated for sensitivity were destroyed by shredder. (of course we probably
can't prove any were destroyed by any other means).
On the other hand, we have no evidence or knowledge that anyone was ever instructed
to do this and we can establish that the machines weren't sought out by OWPE and
OERR. We could interview staff about whether they overheard or observed anyone
destroying documents which should have been retained, but with free access to the
machines I'm not sure that proves much since the volume of documents covered in the
various requests would make that kind of observation pretty difficult
Finally, from Gene A. Lucero, director of EPA's Office of Waste Progams
Enforcement (OWPE):Feb. 11: SUBJECT: Paper Shredder
When the paper shredder was offered to us, we decided to accept it since it would
be the most secure way of discarding unnecessary documents. In addition, it would be a
more secure way of discarding duplicate copies of enforcement confidential or
enforcement sensitive materials in the future. Past experience has shown that the
agency's trash removal process did not guarantee that documents would not be spilled in
hallways or found blowing around the parking lot near the dumpster
There you have it, the mystery finally resolved.
Obviously, they needed those shredders. Had they not obtained them, the whole
confidential file would have been blown for sure by those sinister forces operating in
EPA's parking lot around the dumpster.
Whew! When you think of what might have been, it gives you chills.
So you can rest easier and put Shreddergate behind you. And, oh yes, while we're on
the subject, Mr. President, how about a full pardon for Frank Wills? There are
precedents, you know.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
Copyright 1978 The Washington Post
The Washington Post
November 22, 1978, Wednesday, Final Edition
SECTION: First Section; A1
LENGTH: 700 words
HEADLINE: Carter Billed $1,445 in Reappraisal of Family Peanut Business; Carter
Billed $1,445 in Back Property Tax
BYLINE: By Edward Walsh, Washington Post Staff Writer
BODY: Sumter County, Ga., tax officials have billed President Carter $1,445 for
back property taxes and interest as a result of a reappraisal of the Carter family peanut
business, White House officials said yesterday.
The reappraisal, according to documents released yesterday at the White House and in
Sumter County, found that in 1975 property owned by the peanut warehouse was
undervalued by $88,500, on which $700 in back taxes and $121 in interest is owned. In
1976, the reapprasial found, the property was undervalued by $167,800, on which $1,393
in back taxes and $116 in interest is owed.
In all, the warehouse business owes $2,330 in back taxes and interest. The
president's share of this $2,330 tax bill is $1,445. The remainder is owed by Carter's
brother Billy, and his mother Lillian, who are partners in the business.
Carter requested the reappraisal and agreed to abide by its findings, after ABC news
last month reported that the president's federal income tax returns and his Sumter
County property tax records show discrepancies in the value of some warehouse
equipment.
According to ABC, in 1975 and 1976, Carter claimed investment tax credits - reducing
his federal income taxes - for the purchase of slightly more than $1 million in new
equipment for the warehouse. But in those same years, ABC said, the new equipment
was valued in Sumter County for property tax purposes at $425,000.
The report suggested that the president had overstated the cost of the equipment to
obtain a larger investment tax credit from the federal government or had undervalued it
when reporting it to local officials to reduce his property taxes.
White House officials, noting that Carter's federal income tax returns for those years
had been audited and approved by the Internal Revenue Service, then requested the
local property tax reappraisal.
White House press secretary Jody Powell said the undervaluation resulted from a
number of factors. For 1975 taxes, he said, the warehouse supplied county officials with
an extensive list of new equipment purchased that year, listing the cost of some of the
items but omitting cost figures for others. In calculating the value of the warehousee's
holdings, he said, country officials apparently added up only the cost figures supplied to
them.
Powell said yesterday he assumed the cost figures had not been available for some of
the equipment at the time the tax declaration was filed.
He said the undervaluation also occurred because the value of some construction work
done at the warehouse was not originally included in the calculations and that, as an
"oversight," Billy Carter had not reported to local officials that the warehouse owned a
number of unlicensed vehicles.
At the time, Billy Carter was in charge of the family business, and his brother was
campaigning full-time for the presidency. Powell said the president "accepts full
responsibility as the major shareholder" in the warehouse partnership for the business's
taxes.
White House officials said Carter has not yet paid the back taxes but will do so SOOL
However, because he will be able to deduce the additional property taxes from this
year's federal income taxes, he will get more than half of the $1,445 back, leaving him a
net cost of $745.
The Sumter County report listed more than $1 million in equipment purchased and
improvements to real estate by the warehouse in 1975 and 1976. White House officials
said these were paid for by a $1 million loan from the National Bank of Georgia, then
controlled by former budget director Bert Lance, they said this contradicts a report in
The New York Times earlier this week suggesting that about $300,000 from the loan had
not been accounted for.
The documents released yesterday at the White House included a 16-page report on
the reappraisal by the Sumter County Board of Tax Assessors and a letter from W. E.
Stickland, the Georgia Commissioner of Revenue, reporting a similar reappraisal by state
officials.
Carter's 62 percent interest in the warehouse partnership was put in a "blind trust"
administered by his friend and adviser, Atlanta lawyer Charles Kirbo, when Carter took
office as president.
Copyright 1979 Facts on File, Inc.
Facts on File World News Digest
October 19, 1979
SECTION: U.S. AFFAIRS; Carter Family Business
PAGE: Pg. 782 F2
LENGTH: 589 words
HEADLINE: Cleared in Finances Probe
BODY: Justice Department Special Counsel Paul J. Curran said Oct. 16 his
investigation into the finances of the Carter family peanut business had cleared
President Carter and his brother, Billy, of any criminal wrongdoing. [See p. 500A3, C2]
In ending his inquiry, Curran said he found "no evidence whatsoever" that money from
loans to the Carter business from National Bank of Georgia had been diverted to
Carter's 1976 campaign.
"Our audits and examinations of the books and records leave no room for doubt on
this score," he said. "Every nickel and every peanut have been tracked into and out of
the warehouse, and no funds were unlawfully diverted."
Curran added that "based on all the evidence and the applicable law" he wouldn't seek
any indictments in the case.
Curran, who had been appointed to investigate the Carter finances in March, delivered
a 239-page report to Attorney General Benjamin R. Civiletti. He delivered an abridged
report, 179 pages long, to Congress and the press, explaining that he was prohibited by
law from releasing testimony given before a federal grand jury in Atlanta.
The Curran report did outline irregularities in the loan relationship between the
Carter warehouse and National Bank of Georgia, which was headed at the time of the
loans by Bert Lance, director of the Office of Management and Budget for the first eight
months of Carter's presidency. [See p. 500A3]
The bank loaned the Carter business nearly $10 million from 1975 through 1977.
Curran said the loans had insufficient collateral for long periods in 1975 and 1976, that
the warehouse had major overdrafts of its bank account in late 1975 and that NBG ofter
held Carter checks because the account had insufficient funds.
Curran apparently decided that any technical violations that existed in those situations
did not amount to willful criminal acts.
On another issue, Curran concluded that Billy Carter neither pledged the same
collateral twice nor sold off peanuts securing the NBG loan in April and May of 1976, as
former Carter warehouseman Jimmy Hayes reportedly had claimed. [See pp. 301D3,
183F3-184B2]
Curran's audit discovered what he said were "a number of errors related to the
recording of sales and purchases" that "may have material income-tax consequences."
Curran said those findings would be reported to the Internal Revenue Service.
Curran said he also conducted "a limited examination" of the records of Gerald
Rafshoon Advertising Inc. to determine whether the agency had obtained any money
from any outside sources that enabled it to extend credit to Carter's 1976 primary
campaign. Curran said the Rafshoon agency, owned at the time by Gerald Rafshoon,
Carter's current media adviser, had no access to unexplained cash while handling the
primary campaign and the agency at no point spent more than it had received from the
Carter campaign committee. [See p. 500C2]
White House Response -- Presidential Press Secretary Jody Powell said Curran's
findings ended a "witch hunt" in which investigators didn't "find any witches."
President Carter, asked about the Curran report at a Democratic Party reception in
Harvey, Ill., said "I'm glad they have completed their investigation and turned their
attention to crime control."
Later, at the White House, he said, "The truth finally came out."
Billy Carter said the investigation had been "a complete waste of the taxpayers'
money." He blamed the probe on "idiot reporters" and the fact that "Jimmy is president.
"
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
Copyright 1984 The New York Times Company
The New York Times
October 4, 1984, Thursday, Late City Final Edition
Correction Appended
SECTION: Section A; Page 1, Column 4; National Desk
LENGTH: 1829 words
HEADLINE: BUSH MADE A $198,000 PAYMENT TO I.R.S. IN JUNE FOR BACK
TAXES
BYLINE: By JEFF GERTH, Special to the New York Times
DATELINE: LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Oct. 3
BODY:
Vice President Bush paid the Internal Revenue Service $198,000 in back
taxes and interest last June after the service ruled that he had failed to report about
$500,000 in income from the sale of his house on his 1981 tax return and improperly
used $29,000 in leftover campaign funds.
The tax deficiency was disclosed in Little Rock, where Mr. Bush was campaigning, by
Dean Burch and Robert B. Yorty, Mr. Bush's attorneys, at a news briefing. The
disclosures were prompted by questions in light of the inquiry into the financial affairs of
the Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee, Geraldine A. Ferraro, and the fact that only
Mr. Bush of the four major national candidates had not made public such information.
The attorneys said that Mr. Bush had believed he did not have to report the income
and that he intended to sue the revenue service in an effort to recover the additional
taxes. The ruling was a result of an automatic audit of Mr. Bush's tax returns, completed
last May, that found he owed back taxes of $144,000 and interest of $54,000.
Had Known of Dispute
Mr. Bush had known about the tax dispute for two years, the attorneys said, because it
involved assets not in the blind trust he set up when he took office as Vice President.
In August, when Mr. Bush released financial information and earlier tax returns, he did
not make known the tax dispute.
At that time, the Vice President said he could not disclose information about his
taxes because they were handled by his trustee.
(At a news conference in Tulsa, Okla., Mr. Bush said that he felt "singled out" by the
I.R.S. and had not said earlier that he had to pay back taxes because: "You didn't ask
me. I didn't feel inclined to go out and say 'Hey, I've got a problem with the I.R.S.'
(Mr. Bush said neither he nor his lawyer had disclosed the capital gains taxes "because
I think he didn't know, and I didn't, the full tax picture." When it was noted that he had
paid the tax in June and had been briefed by his attorney in August, Mr. Bush said, "But
we didn't know whether we were going to have a net increase or a net loss.")
The issue in the house sale is the definition, under tax law, of Mr. Bush's principal
residence. If, as he says, it is his home in Kennebunkport, Me., which he bought in 1981,
then he could apply the $600,000 in profits he made when he sold his home in Houston
in 1981 to the purchase of the Maine home, and not pay taxes on the capital gain from
the Houston sale. If, however, his principal residence is deemed to be the
Vice-Presidential residence in Washington, as the I.R.S. contends, he must report the
gain and pay taxes at a rate of 20 percent. Mr. Yorty, Mr. Bush's tax attorney, said the
decision to call the Maine home Mr. Bush's principal residence was a "borderline" call
because there were a number of previous rulings and decisions not favorable to their
position.
One decision that Mr. Yorty said he was aware of was a 1974 ruling by the
Congressional Joint Taxation Committee in which the committee found that President
Nixon had improperly claimed a house in San Clemente, Calif., as his principal residence
rather than the White House. After the committee finding and a similiar ruling by the
I.R.S., Mr. Nixon paid back taxes on the gain he realized in 1969 from the sale of a
cooperative apartment in New York.
Mr. Burch said Mr. Bush had been "enraged" at the tax decision. A prepared
statement issued by the Vice President's press secretary today said that the decision
"raises not only legal questions, but questions of fairness" since "the Kennebunkport
house is the only house Vice President Bush owns."
Calls Residence Temporary
The statement says Mr. Bush's occupancy of the Vice President's house in
Washington, which is owned by the Federal Government, is "temporary and is incidental
to the Vice President's duties."
Mr. Bush was not immediately available to answer questions about the tax dispute.
A spokesman for the revenue service said the I.R.S. would have no comment on the
dispute with Mr. Bush, citing agency rules that prohibit any discussion of taxpayer audits.
The audit of Mr. Bush's returns was required under procedures that call for the service
to automatically audit the returns of the President and Vice President. The audit of
Mr. Bush's 1982 returns found nothing unacceptable; the 1983 returns have not yet been
reviewed.
Sought I.R.S. Ruling
Before filing Mr. Bush's 1981 returns, his attorneys said they sought a ruling from the
I.R.S. on whether Mr. Bush's house in Maine could be deemed his principal residence.
The service said it was unable to issue a ruling because it involved a question of fact,
which could be addressed by agency officials only after the return was filed.
The tax return was filed using the rollover provision available to taxpayers who use the
proceeds from the sale of their home to buy another. This meant the capital gain from
the sale of the Houston home, $596,000, was not reported as taxable but instead was
rolled over into the purchase of the Maine home, which cost about $800,000.
Last March, the revenue service, after the audit of the 1981 return challenged the
rollover, ruled that the Maine home was not Mr. Bush's principal residence. That ruling,
Mr. Bush's attorneys said, was based on such particulars as how many nights Mr. Bush
stayed in Maine and the fact that his voter registration was in Houston.
Mr. Yorty said the other unfavorable ruling, involving the campaign funds, was
"appalling."
Leftover Campaign Funds
Mr. Bush had some $85,000 in funds leftover from his 1980 Presidential campaign. The
revenue service says that these funds must be treated as income unless they are donated
in a timely fashion to a charitable organization. Mr. Bush used some of his funds to
refurbish his office, used other funds for expenses, donated $32,000 to the Republican
National Committee and used a few thousand to pay late campaign expenses.
The I.R.S., in the same March ruling, said that a total of $29,000 should have been
reported as income and that therefore Mr. Bush owed additional taxes of about $15,000.
Mr. Bush paid those taxes last June as part of the $144,000.
The remainder of the $144,000 stems from the house sale. After the service challenged
the rollover, Mr. Bush took advantage of a $100,000 exclusion for people over 55 and
reduced the capital gain on the sale of his Houston home to $496,000. Based on the tax
rate of 20 percent for capital gains and a reformulation of his tax liabilities based on
income averaging, the back taxes on the house sale came to about $129,000.
To get his back taxes refunded, Mr. Bush must first petition the I.R.S., which is likely
to result in a denial, and then sue the service in Federal District Court or the Court of
Claims in Wshington.
For the years 1981 through 1983 Mr. Bush had a combined gross income, including the
house sale, of $810,000. For the same period he paid Federal taxes, including the back
taxes, of $303,000, or about 40 percent.
Mr. Bush's adjusted gross income was $504,829 in 1981, $163,531 in 1982 and
$142,117 in 1983. His federal tax payments for those years were; $245,491 for 1981,
$39,625 for 1982 and $18,305 last year. Mr. Bush's annual salary as Vice President is
$94,000.
Trust Holdings Deleted
In 1982 and 1983 Mr. Bush also paid state income taxes in Maine.
The rest of the information released today provided few new details about Mr. Bush's
finances. Portions of Mr. Bush's tax returns that would show his trust's holdings were
deleted.
The attorneys released an amendment to his trust that allowed the tax information to
be disclosed. When Mr. Bush took office he put a little less than a million dollars in
stocks and bonds into the trust. Those holdings, which have increased some, plus his
Maine home, now valued at $950,000, constitute most of his net worth of $2.1 million.
Mr. Bush's trust is managed by W. S. Farish and Company in Houston. The company
was responsible for filing the 1981 tax return and was involved in the original discussions
with the revenue agent who audited Mr. Bush's returns. Subsequently, when I.R.S.
officials in Washington became involved in the discussions about the house and the
campaign funds, Mr. Yorty and Mr. Burch entered the case, they said.
Mr. Bush has said that he has always believed that the finances of public officials
should be fully disclosed. The trust that he set up, a qualified diversified trust, has
stringent provisions designed to insure that his official duties do not conflict with his
personal holdings. The provisions included that he be insulated from his tax returns, but,
with the recent amendment, a portion of his tax returns can now be made public without
compromising the trust.
Bush Feels 'Singled Out'
TULSA, Okla., Oct. 3 - Mr. Bush said here tonight that he felt he had been "singled
out" by the I.R.S. because he was not entitled by a ruling by the agency to do "what any
other taxpayer" can do and roll over his capital gains.
At a news conference here, six hours after his lawyers released his tax information in
Little Rock, Ark., Mr. Bush said: "I think a lot of people out there would understand it
and think if you're Vice President that doesn't mean you should be singled out. I think
I've been singled out."
Mr. Bush said that he had "been taken to the cleaners" by the I.R.S. and that he
"should be entitled to what any other citizen does and that is go the final route." Mr.
Bush, reiterating what his lawyer said earlier, said he would appeal the decision that he
owed capital gains taxes on the proceeds of the property he sold in Houston.
The Vice President said he did not see why he should be treated any differently than
a Navy officer who was provided a home by the Government but might also buy private
property.
'Lot of Money'
"If a guy is provided a house in the Navy, that doesn't mean he can't sell a home in
Virginia and buy another home in Maine or Texas or any place else, even though he has
quarters provided," Mr. Bush said.
Referring to the back taxes he paid in June, Mr. Bush said: "This residence thing for
Barbara and me, that's a lot of money. I think it would be for any taxpayer."
The Vice President did not specifically mention the ruling against President Nixon.
But he noted: "I assume that if my predecessors had done it, they would have had the
same problem, if at least these guys had ruled at the I.R.S."
Asked if he now understood the pressures that his counterpart on the Democratic
ticket, Representative Ferraro, had been under in August when she released her
financial statements, Mr. Bush replied: "I could identify or sympathize or empathize with
somebody who gets questioned, questioned, the same question over and over, the
pressure it puts on." But he added: "I think the facts are very, very different."
CORRECTION-DATE: October 5, 1984, Friday, Late City Final Edition
CORRECTION: EDITORS' NOTE
Under this heading, The Times amplifies articles or rectifies what the editors consider
significant lapses of fairness, balance or perspective.
An article on page 1 yesterday said that the Internal Revenue Service had ruled that
Vice President Bush failed to report about $500,000 in income from the sale of a house
and that he had improperly used $29,000 in leftover campaign funds.
Both these statements were inaccurate, and thereby unfair to Mr. Bush.
As was reported later in the article, Mr. Bush did report the capital gain from the sale
of a house in Houston. He applied this gain toward the purchase of another house in
Kennebunkport, Me., which he claimed as his principal residence, and thus claimed an
exemption from paying a tax on the capital gain. The I.R.S. rejected this claim for an
exemption on the ground that Mr. Bush's principal residence is in Washington.
The I.R.S. ruling on the campaign funds was that $29,000 of some $85,000 left over
from his 1980 campaign for the Presidency should have been listed as taxable income
because the way in which it was handled did not qualify for an exemption. These funds
involved a gift to the Republican National Committee and payment of some campaign
expenses.
As a result of the rulings by the Internal Revenue Service, Mr. Bush has paid about
$129,000 in additional taxes on the real estate transaction and about $15,000 on the
campaign funds, as well as $54,000 interest on the total. Mr. Bush is contesting both
I.R.S. rulings.
An article on Mr. Bush's tax situation begins on page 1 today.
GRAPHIC: photos of Vice President Bush
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
The Associated Press
The materials in the AP file were compiled by The Associated Press. These materials
may not be republished without the express written consent of The Associated Press.
October 7, 1984, Sunday, AM cycle
ADVANCED-DATE: October 5, 1984, Friday, AM cycle
LENGTH: 979 words
HEADLINE: Advance for Sunday AMs Oct 7 and ThereafterIRS Ruling On Bush
Followed Precedent of Nixon's Tax Case
BYLINE: By JIM LUTHER, AP Tax Writer
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
BODY: The Internal Revenue Service was not plowing new ground when it denied
Vice President George Bush a tax break on the sale of his home. President Nixon had
raised the same issue in 1969 with the same result.
Bush is fighting the IRS ruling that cost him penalty and interest of almost $200,000,
claiming "they socked it to me." But Nixon had his hands full with a bigger problem the
-
Watergate scandal when his taxes came into question in 1974 and had little choice
-
but to pay without a fight.
Bush's disclosure of his tax returns last week and similar action in August by
Geraldine Ferraro, his Democratic challenger, point up that politicians can have as much
trouble keeping their taxes straight as does the average American. The biggest difference
is the size of the figures.
Few people have tax problems like those that confronted Vice President Spiro T.
Agnew in 1973. He was forced to resign after pleading no contest to one count of
income-tax evasion; the Justice Department charged he had failed to report $29,500 of
payoffs received in 1967 when he was governor of Maryland.
Agnew's resignation resulted in Nixon's selection of then-Rep. Gerald R. Ford,
R-Mich., to be vice president. The resulting audit of Ford's tax returns for 1967 through
1972 disclosed that on four occasions the long-time congressman had written checks
totaling $871 on a political account to pay for his clothes. After the IRS determined that
money should be counted as income, Ford paid an extra $436 in taxes.
The audit also found Ford has used the same political account to pay for his family's
ski vacation at Vail, Colo., in 1972. As it turned out, Ford had corrected that discrepancy
before the audit.
Ms. Ferraro got herself into trouble by promising full disclosure of her and her
husband's finances and taxes before checking with her husband, John A. Zaccaro, a New
York real estate manager. The dispute clouded the Democratic campaign for several
days until Zaccaro apparently concluded that protecting his privacy was less important
than his wife's political fortunes.
Their returns showed the couple paid at least as much federal tax as the average
person at their high income level but that they had underpaid their taxes in 1978. Ms.
Zaccaro said the underpayment resulted from an error by their accountant; she sent the
IRS a check for $53,459 for the underpayment and interest.
Bush also resisted release of his tax returns, saying the blind trusts into which most of
his investments had been placed prohibited access to the information. But after the
Office of Government Ethics disagreed, the vice president released his returns
Wednesday while campaigning in Little Rock, Ark.
They showed that in 1981 through 1983, he and Mrs. Bush had paid 37.4 percent of
their income in federal taxes, more than the average for somebody with their earnings.
The disclosure also showed Bush and the IRS disagreed on the sale of his home in
Houston and his donation to the Republican National Committee of $32,000 left over
from his 1980 presidential campaign.
The disagreement prompted the IRS to assess and Bush to pay $198,000 in back
-
taxes and interest. He says he will fight the assessment in court. The bulk of the
assessment resulted from Bush's insistence that his principal home is in Kennebunkport,
Maine, not the vice president's official residence in Washington.
Bush sold his Houston home in 1980, and in early 1981 invested the proceeds in the
Maine mansion. When he filed his tax return, he took advantage of a law that permits a
homeowner to defer taxes on such capital gains that arise from the sale of a "principal
home."
The IRS concluded that Bush's principal home was not Kennebunkport even though
-
that was the only home he owned but in Washington, where he spent most of his time.
-
While that may seem to penalize an officeholder who lives in a government house,
IRS publications point out that to use the tax break, "you must physically live in the
replacement home as your principal home....'
In 1969, Nixon sold his New York City apartment and used the money to buy a
mansion in San Clemente, Calif., which he claimed as his principal home. Congressional
investigators and the IRS said the White House was his principal home, and Nixon lost
the tax break.
That was not Nixon's biggest tax problem, however. Most of the $432,787 in back
taxes that he agreed to pay grew out of his claiming a charitable-contribution
deduction for vice presidential papers he had donated to the government. Such
deductions had been outlawed as of July 25, 1969. Investigators concluded Nixon's agents
had dated the deed of gift on March 27, 1969, but had not completed the gift until 1970.
None of the deduction was allowed.
There was never a hint that Jimmy Carter had any tax problems while he was
president. Quite the opposite.
In 1976, the year he was elected, Carter bought a considerable amount of equipment
for the warehouse and the resulting investment tax credit wiped out all his tax liability.
But he sent the IRS a $6,000 check anyway, saying he felt strongly that "a person should
pay some tax on his income."
Another politician's tax problem followed him to the grave.
After Nixon resigned and Ford ascended to the presidency, Ford selected Nelson A.
Rockefeller to be vice president. The multimillionaire former governor of New York
spent $550,160 in legal and clerical fees in winning congressional confirmation. After he
died in 1979, his estate claimed that money was a deductible business expense.
The IRS rejected the claim. And last month, the U.S. Tax Court sided with the agency,
holding that Rockefeller's long career in public service did not constitute a single trade
or business that winning confirmation was not just another step in that career. "Each
-
public office was a separate business," the court said.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
Copyright 1992 The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.
Daily Report For Executives
September 21, 1992, Monday
1992 DER 183 d56
SECTION: TAXATION, BUDGET AND ACCOUNTING; 183.
LENGTH: 373 words
HEADLINE: Campaign '92, MAINE STATE REPRESENTATIVE URGES
INVESTIGATION INTO BUSH'S TAX PAYMENTS
BODY: Maine state Rep. Susan Dore (D) Sept. 18 called for an investigation into
charges that President Bush avoided paying income taxes to Maine.
Speaking at a press conference sponsored by the Independent Committee on Ethics
PAC (ICEPAC), Dore said she was calling for the investigation after discovering that
Bush paid $ 15,122 in state and local taxes on his 1983 income, but did not pay income
tax to Maine prior to or after 1983.
Dore urged Bush to disclose the state to which he paid state income taxes in 1983.
Maine is prevented from disclosing whether Bush paid income taxes to the state because
of confidentiality restrictions, she explained.
If Bush paid state income tax to Maine in 1983, however, the payment could cast
doubt on Bush's claim to be a resident of Texas, which has no state income tax, she
suggested.
Steve Bost, chairman of Maine's Senate Taxation Committee commented in a release,
"The revelation that George Bush paid state taxes in the year he was being audited but
failed to pay taxes before or after the audit, raises new and disturbing questions about
Bush's claim to be a Texas resident."
Jim Hightower, of ICEPAC, told reporters, "The people of America have a right to
know why the president feels he can pick and choose his residency based on how he
can most effectively avoid paying his fair share of taxes rather than on where he actually
lives."
He added, "How can we trust a man who talks about fairness and finds nothing wrong
with abandoning his responsibility to pay his fair share of taxes?"
Hightower noted Bush established Texas as his tax domicile by signing an affidavit
stating that he intended to live in Houston following the completion of his public service.
The Houston address at Bush said he intends to live, Hightower told reporters, was a
33-foot by 160-foot plot of undeveloped land.
Bush said in his affidavit that he did not claim his property in Kennebunkport, Maine,
as a homestead and that he does not claim Maine as his legal domicile.
By claiming Texas as his domicile, he avoided Maine's 8.5 percent state income tax
rate, which would have resulted in a $ 29,000 annual tax bill for Bush, according to press
reports cited by Dore and Hightower.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
Copyright 1982 The Washington Post
The Washington Post
May 18, 1982, Tuesday, Final Edition
SECTION: First Section; A1
LENGTH: 720 words
HEADLINE: Reagans Pay Over $20,000 In Back Taxes
BYLINE: By Herbert H. Denton, Washington Post Staff Writer
BODY: President and Mrs. Reagan paid more than $20,000 in back taxes and
interest to the federal government and the state of California last year after the Internal
Revenue Service disallowed claims on their 1978 and 1979 returns of business losses in
the operation of their Santa Barbara ranch, their tax lawyer confirmed yesterday.
The lawyer, Roy D. Miller of Los Angeles, contended that the disputed claims had
been permitted in previous years but were rejected by the IRS for 1978 and 1979 after
an audit that began in mid-1980 when Reagan was running for president.
Miller confirmed a "ballpark" estimate that the Reagans were required to pay about
$20,000 to $22,000 plus 12 percent interest. The interest payment of $2,734 was taken as
a deduction on the Reagans' 1981 return, which was made public last month.
Miller said he could not recall all of the details of the disallowed expenses claimed in
connection with operation of Rancho del Cielo, the Reagans' mountaintop vacation
retreat 29 1/2 miles northwest of Santa Barbara.
At the time Reagan made public his 1979 tax return, news accounts reported that he
claimed a loss of $9,015 on his ranch. The articles said that he reported income of $3,024
from the sale of 14 steers and $3,350 from unspecified "rents" but that these were more
than offset by expenses. They included $3,839 for labor, $598 in feed, $367 for
horseshoes, $1,422 in gasoline and $1,118 for utilities. Other deductions included $15 for
depreciation of a fan used at the ranch.
Reagan reported income of $515,878 for 1979, more than half of which went for taxes,
including $230,886 in federal income taxes and $32,050 in state and local income taxes,
according to the news accounts.
Meanwhile yesterday, deputy White House press secretary Larry Speakes said the
White House will reprimand anyone who gives Reagan a gift and then uses the resulting
thank-you note to promote a business.
"When matters of this type are called to our attention
they receive a pretty stern
letter from the White House counsel indicating that we don't look with favor on them
using the president's name," Speakes said.
White House counsel Fred Fielding said later that such letters would be sent to a
Reno, Nev., belt buckle manufacturer and a Mechanicsburg, Pa., jeweler who told The
Post that they had given the Reagans gifts with the idea of publicizing their products.
They were among a group of 47 friends, manufacturers and strangers who gave the
Reagans thousands of dollars in jewelry, sculptures, crystal, sweaters and shoes in their
first year in office. The Reagans' 1981 financial disclosure form indicated that the total
value of the gifts was more than $31,000.
In a related matter yesterday, Nancy Reagan's office announced that she will return a
diamond necklace and a pair of diamond earrings worth several hundred thousand
dollars to the Harry Winston Co., a Fifth Avenue diamond merchant.
Ronald Winston, the firm's president, has said the diamonds were given so they could
become the "nucleus of an ongoing collection for first ladies of the White House."
But an administration official, who said Saturday the White House did not feel it was
proper to keep the Winston jewels because of a feeling "that there shouldn't be state
jewels," said they would be returned.
The announcement by Mrs. Reagan's office said the jewels, on loan to her since
inaugural festivities 16 months ago, would be sent back after she and the president
return from the state visit to Great Britain and Europe next month.
David Waller, senior associate White House counsel, said Reagan has no recollection
of meeting Rex Cauble, a 68-year-old Texas millionaire rancher-businessman who gave
the president two pairs of boots worth $600 on behalf of himself and the American
Footwear Industry Association of Dallas and received presidential thank-you notes.
Waller said he thinks Cauble is a member of a national horse riding club called the
Rancheros to which the president belongs.
Since he gave the gift last June, Cauble has been convicted on federal charges of
conspiracy, embezzlement and racketeering and sentenced to 10 five-year terms.
Prosecutors said Cauble financed and profited from the "Cowboy Mafia," which smuggled
106 tons of marijuana from South America in 1977 and 1978.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
Copyright 1992 Toronto Star Newspapers, Ltd.
The Toronto Star
March 29, 1992, Sunday, SUNDAY EDITION
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. A1/ FRONT
LENGTH: 1812 words
HEADLINE: You think our tax collector is tough? Try Uncle Sam
BYLINE: BY JOHN PICTON TORONTO STAR
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
BODY:
They once stopped a mourner in a funeral procession so they could seize his
car.
They have more accountants and lawyers on staff - all experts in firearms - than any
other organization in the world.
There are day-care centres in their cavernous buildings, decorated with hearts and
cows and piglets, to keep employees happy.
In a recruitment poster, they use a photo of Al Capone, the late gangster who was
jailed for tax evasion, proving that "sometimes only the accountant can apprehend the
criminal."
And they play no favorites, recently nailing former president Ronald Reagan and his
wife Nancy for an estimated $ 1 million in back taxes for free dresses, jewelry and furs
the former first lady accepted when they lived at the White House.
They are the agents of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, the toughest - "and best,"
they insist - tax collectors in the world, just gearing up at their busiest time of the year.
If, at this time when Canadians have to dig deep into their pockets to pay income
taxes, you think it's tough here, be thankful you don't have to deal with the aggressive
U.S. tax collectors.
There are IRS people advising governments in Africa, Asia, Europe and the
Caribbean.
It has teams working in Poland, Indonesia and Senegal.
Even now, there are IRS experts giving seminars across Canada on U.S. tax law for
U.S. citizens living here, and firms based here, who have business dealings in the United
States.
And, recently, U.S. legal experts were able to force Canadian lotteries to cough up the
names of U.S. winners, none of whom had declared winnings to Uncle Sam, thus
avoiding tax.
"There's 100 per cent non-compliance now by U.S. winners," says Joe Hook, the chief
IRS person in Ottawa.
"I know of one U.S. person who hit a $ 6 million win and didn't pay tax on it.
"Her name was in the paper, and we found out through U.S. sources."
She's paid tax since - $ 1 million.
The 120,000 people who collect more than a trillion dollars a year in taxes - at a cost
of 52 cents for every $ 100 collected - are arguably the most powerful branch of the U.S.
government.
They are feared, even loathed, by taxpayers who've accused them of being ruthless
bullies who practise dirty tricks and intimidation in tracking down offenders.
In turn, IRS people point to the words of the late judge Oliver Wendell Holmes
chiselled into the stonework atop the entrance to their headquarters on Constitution
Avenue: "Taxes are what we pay for a civilized society."
Of course, there are people who don't agree with that.
Two years ago, suspicious about the number of children being claimed on tax returns,
the IRS talked Congress into changing the law so that parents had to give the social
security number for each dependent.
The next year, more than 7 million children disappeared from the rolls - "because they
didn't exist," says an IRS official.
If that was a smart move, there are glitches that send taxpayers reeling.
According to Money magazine, one of those glitches concerned farmers Katharine and
Eugene Swan of Athens, Me.
After filing their 1988 tax returns, they were told by the IRS that they still owed $
29,907.55 in taxes, penalties and interest on undeclared dividends.
The Swans fought the case, insisting they didn't owe a cent.
Subsequently, the IRS inexplicably sent them a cheque for $ 3,562.06, telling them to
return it so that it could be credited against their 1990 tax return.
In another story cited by the U.S. National Taxpayers Union, Thomas Treadway of
Pipersville, Pa., has claimed his garbage management business was "destroyed" by the
IRS.
In testimony before the Senate finance committee, he said the IRS presented him with
a tax assessment of $ 247,000, "stripped me of everything," and seized $ 22,000 from his
girlfriend's bank account to cover his alleged tax liability, although she owed no taxes at
all.
Later, the entire assessment was thrown out on appeal as being "unreasonable," but
only after Treadway and his girlfriend had spent more than $ 75,000 in legal and
accounting fees.
The IRS agent who handled the case was given a promotion and a raise.
Such overzealous demands have tarnished the IRS image for years as agents go in
search of an estimated $ 100 billion a year in uncollected taxes on money generated by
the underground economy.
(They do recover $ 20 billion a year from unreported income).
Senator David Pryor says legislators are aware of abuses, but many of them are afraid
to do anything about them in case they are "flagged" for an IRS audit.
And IRS managers anxious to look good to their superiors are reported to pressure
agents to increase the number of property seizures, levies and liens on taxpayers.
A district manager in Los Angeles had a sign on his door that read: "Seizure Fever -
Catch It."
A manager in Baltimore, Md., sent his staff a memo in which he warned: "The revenue
officers that are performing above a satisfactory level will be rewarded, and the ones that
are not will be documented with corrective action taken."
Another memo told IRS officers that "your mid-year evaluations will be prepared in
approximately one and one-half months
You will be evaluated on your
accomplishments, or lack of accomplishments. Need I say more?"
In testimony before a congressional subcommittee, a retired revenue officer said his
former office in Las Vegas was considered to have the lowest "production" in the western
region.
His boss summoned his staff and said that "his job was on the line unless the stats
improved significantly."
The retired officer continued: "He said that we had to improve production.
"He said that if he was removed because of low production and low seizure activity, he
was going to take a lot of people with him."
One IRS official in Philadelphia would boast about the time he told a delinquent
mother who had no income and no means of payment: "If you don't pay your taxes, then
bring your kids in and we'll sell them for you."
And there was the case of Alex Council, the case that rocked the nation.
His wife, Kay, arrived home from a bingo game on a summer's night in 1988 to find
all the lights on and a chilling note from her husband on the kitchen table.
It read: "My dearest Kay: I have taken my life in order to provide capital for you.
"The IRS and its liens which have been taken against our property illegally by a
runaway agency of our government have dried up all sources of credit for us.
"So I have made the only decision I can. It's purely a business decision. I hope you can
understand that.
"I love you completely. Alex."
And there was an anguished PS: "You will find my body on the lot on the north side
of the house."
Alex had shot himself in the head.
And there was the case of the mother of three children who says she was 27 weeks
pregnant when a group of plainclothes people jumped on her husband in front of their
house, knocked him down and handcuffed him.
Then one of them identified himself as a U.S. marshal - who had no arrest warrant
and who said he'd planned to make the arrest by himself but that the IRS agents with
him had insisted on being deputized and taken along.
Eight days later, despite a pregnancy that "was going perfectly," the mother gave birth
prematurely to twins, one of whom died, while the other "has suffered physical
problems."
The mother has quoted a former IRS agent as saying one of the officers at the raid
was promoted soon afterward as a reward for using "fear tactics."
But if the IRS has taken its knocks, it's also had staggering successes.
High-profile Leona Helmsley, the so-called Queen of Mean, was convicted of tax fraud
in running the 21-hotel chain she owned with husband Harry.
Spiro Agnew resigned as U.S. vice-president and pleaded no contest when the IRS
went after him for evading $ 13,551 of federal income taxes on $ 29,500 of unreported
income in 1967.
The Reagans had hardly moved out of the White House when curious IRS agents
started inquiring about the goodies Nancy had accepted from some of America's top
fashion designers when Ronnie was president.
They decided the freebies clearly could be classified as taxable income.
Poring over hundreds of photos of the former first lady at functions during the Reagan
years, agents compiled evidence of a lavish wardrobe for which, according to The New
Republic magazine, designers said sl. hadn't paid.
It's been estimated the Reagans were given a tax bill for at least $ 960,243 in back
taxes and interest, more if a negligence penalty was levied.
The IRS also has had notable successes in its constant search for money launderers.
(It's estimated there are 80 launderers in Houston, Tex., alone, illegal wire-transfer
businesses known as "giros." People wanting to hide money from the government also use
grocery and liquor stores and cheque-cashing businesses for hiding dirty money).
One recent case involved Canada.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration discovered an underground firm in San Jose,
Calif., was manufacturing fake steroids out of vitamin tablets, sesame oil, water with
artificial sweetener and diluted milk of magnesia, and selling them across the continent.
The IRS was called in when it was discovered the makers were using mail drops,
aliases and money orders through a fake mortgage company to hide the money.
Agents pounced and seized a shipment worth $ 250,000 as it was leaving Buffalo for
Canada.
In 1986, the Bank of America - the second largest bank in the United States - became
the 11th bank fined by the government as part of an official crackdown on money
laundering by organized crime.
The government said the bank, based in San Francisco, had committed more than
17,000 violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, which requires banks to report all cash
transactions larger than $ 10,000.
The fine: a whopping $ 4.75 million.
Inar Morics, assistant IRS commissioner for criminal investigation, says the IRS's 3,000
agents and their 1,500 support staff have "unique skills."
"You get a feel for something being wrong with figures," he says.
In a 23-week course, they train with members of the FBI, the Secret Service, the
treasury department's crack alcohol, tobacco and firearms branch, and U.S. customs
agents.
Looking lithe as he relaxes in his spacious office, he says his agents are given physical
education, taught arrest techniques and the laws of evidence, and are given specialized
training in tracing hidden money through brokers and banks.
And they're taught how to use the special IRS laboratory in Chicago that's used for
analyzing handwriting, inks and paper.
They use informants and disguises, and often get called in to protect agents sent out to
seize property.
"After all, we deal with some very nasty people," he says.
GRAPHIC: 4 photos: Leona Helmsley
Spiro Agnew
Nancy Reagan
IRS poster
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE-MDC: March 30, 1992
Copyright 1992 Gannett Company, Inc.
USA TODAY
January 20, 1992, Monday, FINAL EDITION
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 5A
LENGTH: 424 words
HEADLINE: Report: Iran paid hostages' captors
BODY:
Iran paid for the confinement and upkeep of the U.S. hostages in Lebanon
and also paid their radical, pro-Iranian captors from $ 1 million to $ 2 million for each
hostage released, The Washington Post reported Sunday. Nearly all key hostage talks
were held in Tehran rather than Lebanon, and the hostage-takers were provided with
Iranian travel documents and conferred often with Iranian diplomats, the newspaper
said. Though Washington has long believed that Tehran exerted influence over the
kidnappers, the Post quotes an unnamed senior U.S. official as saying "the evidence now
is that control was 99.9%."
The last U.S. hostage to return from Lebanon, Terry Anderson, was released Dec. 5.
Defense Secretary Dick Cheney said Sunday on CBS's Face the Nation that it was too
soon to talk about restoring normal relations with Iran, but "having the hostage problem
resolved opens up possibilities that didn't exist as long as the hostages were being held."
JFK FILES: A consensus is emerging to open sealed congressional files on the 1963
assassination of President John Kennedy, but the head of a House panel that probed the
murder said the records contain no new evidence. "The files don't contain information
that alters publicly disclosed information," said Rep. Louis Stokes, D-Ohio. "Those
contending there's something in those records that covers up something will be abysmally
disappointed." The pressure to open the files follows release of the movie JFK, which
suggests that Kennedy was the victim of a conspiracy. The House Assassination
Committee, led by Stokes, concluded in 1979 that Kennedy was the victim of a probable
conspiracy that may have involved organized-crime figures. Others publicly supporting
release of the files include former president Gerald Ford, a member of the Warren
Commission that concluded there was no conspiracy; Senate Majority Leader George
Mitchell, D-Maine; and former FBI and CIA director William Webster.
BACK TAXES: Nancy Reagan's designer wardrobe prompted a "hefty" IRS bill for
back taxes and interest, Time reports. Shortly after President Reagan left office, the IRS
audited the Reagans' taxes, Time said. The former first lady, who had promised to
stop taking free designer wear in 1982, told auditors that everything obtained after 1983
had been purchased, but the designers said she hadn't paid them, the magazine said. The
IRS concluded that the Reagans hadn't reported about $3 million worth of free clothes,
jewelry and furs between 1983 and 1988, Time said.
GRAPHIC: PHOTO; b/w, Tim Dillon, USA TODAY
CUTLINE: STOKES: Says files show nothing new
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
Copyright 1989 The Times Mirror Company
Los Angeles Times
December 6, 1989, Wednesday, Home Edition
SECTION: Part A; Page 32; Column 1; Metro Desk
LENGTH: 525 words
HEADLINE: IRS EXAMINING GIFTS, LOANS TO REAGANS; TAXES: THE
INVESTIGATION SEEKS TO DETERMINE IF THE FORMER PRESIDENT AND
HIS WIFE SHOULD BE ASSESSED FOR VARIOUS ITEMS, PARTICULARLY
DRESSES FOR THE FORMER FIRST LADY.
BYLINE: From The Washington Post
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
BODY: The Internal Revenue Service has been examining whether former President
Ronald Reagan and his wife, Nancy, owe back taxes on gifts -- including dresses for
Mrs. Reagan -- that they received while they were in the White House, according to
sources familiar with the inquiry.
The investigation, which began early this year, has been conducted by the IRS's Los
Angeles field office because the Reagans were determined to be California taxpayers
even while living in the White House, the sources said.
Part of the IRS's information comes from M. Chris Blazakis, a free-lance journalist
who previously worked for the designer Galanos, who lent dresses to Mrs. Reagan.
Blazakis said that during the past year he has shared "detailed information with the IRS,"
which he said has launched a "comprehensive examination" of "far-reaching" issues
involving the Reagans' possible tax liability.
Blazakis is now writing a critical book about the Reagans. He said he was coming
forward with the allegations to ensure that they are properly handled by federal
authorities.
The Reagans' tax lawyer, Los Angeles attorney Roy Miller, said he could not comment
on a matter involving a client. The Reagans' spokesman, Mark Weinberg, said he knew
nothing about an IRS inquiry and could not reach the Reagans for comment. A
spokeswoman for the IRS also declined comment, citing privacy laws.
Jill Brett, a spokeswoman for the National Archives, said IRS agents recently
examined Reagan White House photographs at the archives and made some copies. She
said this was done with the former President's permission.
Documents seen by the Washington Post indicate that some IRS officials are treating
the allegations seriously, have spent considerable amounts of time on the inquiry and
have obtained permission from the Reagans to examine their tax records. The Post was
shown these documents on condition that they not be further identified. Such cases are
often resolved without court action in negotiated settlements with the IRS.
Blazakis is a former executive vice president of Galanos Originals, a California firm
headed by designer James Galanos. Time magazine quoted Blazakis as a source for its
October, 1988, report that Nancy Reagan had borrowed dozens of expensive gowns from
famous designers, along with jewelry and other accessories.
The White House acknowledged at the time that the Reagans had not reported the
gowns as loans on financial disclosure forms under the Ethics in Government Act, as
Nancy Reagan had promised she would do in 1982, or declared their value as income on
federal tax returns from 1982 through 1987.
Several tax experts interviewed by the Post last year said the dresses, some of which
were worth $20,000, should be regarded as interest-free loans, and therefore taxable
income, to Nancy Reagan.
But White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said last year that there was "no
illegality" because the White House counsel's office had determined that there were no
tax consequences from the transactions. Therefore, Fitzwater said, the Reagans did not
need to amend their tax returns or financial disclosure statements.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
Copyright 1988 The Washington Post
The Washington Post
November 1, 1988, Tuesday, Final Edition
SECTION: FINANCIAL; PAGE C3; JERRY KNIGHT
LENGTH: 1137 words
HEADLINE: Nancy Reagan's 'Borrowed' Wardrobe Puts the IRS in an Embarrassing
Position
BYLINE: JERRY KNIGHT
BODY: Tax lawyers are mostly men in blue pinstripes, Brooks Brothers types who
never venture above the first floor at Saks Fifth Avenue or Neiman-Marcus and couldn't
tell a Galanos gown from a gunny sack unless you explained how many hours they'd have
to bill to pay for it.
But the Washington tax experts are all atwitter about designer dresses these days,
talking about Adolfo and Galanos and other mono-nomenclatured men who sew their
names in the back of ladies' dresses.
Especially one lady's dresses. The First Lady.
Nancy Reagan's wardrobe is generating as much discussion as the Christmas tree
provisions of the "technical corrections" tax bill, and for the same reason: Those who
understand it know there's something wrong.
As Time magazine first reported, Mrs. Reagan has gotten a closet-full of free dresses
from fashion designers, dresses with price tags that start at four figures and run up to the
price of a Cadillac Coupe De Ville.
The First Lady has secretly "borrowed" $ 2,000 Adolfo suits and $ 22,000 Galanos
gowns by the dozen despite a warning six years ago by White House lawyers that such
wardrobe enhancement had to be disclosed under the Ethics in Government Act. Nancy
promised to live by the law, but she kept taking the taffeta and tulle under the table. As
press secretary Elain Crispen put it, "She set her own little rule, and she broke her own
little rule."
That's not all she broke, according to Washington tax experts, among them tax law
professors, a tax textbook author and former Internal Revenue Service commissioners.
Mrs. Reagan broke the law by not reporting the donated dresses as income, the tax
experts unanimously agree. Depending on how you value the dresses, she could be guilty
of evading taxes on more than $ 1 million worth of taxable income, avoiding paying
hundreds of thousands of dollars of federal taxes over half a dozen years.
Whether The First Lady kept the dresses or gave them all back -- as the White
House says -- they were taxable income and not gifts, say tax law professors Daniel Posin
of The Catholic University of America, Daniel Halperin of Georgetown University and
Bernard Wolfman of Harvard University. Former IRS commissioner Sheldon Cohen, a
Democrat, says the same thing on the record. One of his Republican counterparts says it
off the record and so do other Washington tax lawyers.
"There appears to be no debate among the people I have talked to on the question of
whether it's income," said Posin, the author of "Federal Income Taxation of Individuals"
published by West Publishing, the nation's preeminent legal publisher.
"I would agree," said Halperin of Georgetown. "The only argument could be that it's a
gift," he added, but "under the circumstances, I don't think it meets the general definition
of a gift."
The tax lawyers all cite the same case in the U.S. Supreme Court more than 25 years
ago as deciding the question of whether Mrs. Reagan's dresses were a gift or taxable
income.
An Ohio businessman named Duberstein frequently mentioned business opportunities
to a friend in New York and in return the friend gave him a Cadillac. Duberstein had to
be talked into taking the car -- he already had another Caddy and an Oldsmobile -- and
he never asked or expected payment from the friend and he wasn't about to pay income
taxes on a gift.
The car was no gift, the Supreme Court ruled. A gift, the court said, has to be made
on the basis of "disinterested and detached generosity" with no benefit to the giver.
The designers who have given their clothing to Mrs. Reagan have made it difficult for
her to meet that test. "Nancy was a walking billboard for these designers and they knew
it," said one Washington tax lawyer.
"She's been a sensation for my business," Los Angeles designer David Hayes told
Time, which reported he had given Mrs. Reagan "60 to 80 expensive made-to-order
outfits" in the past eight years. "We think of it as loans," he said.
James Galanos made the same point in an interview with Women's Wear Daily back
in 1982 when the designer donations were first disclosed. Makers of mega-dresses are
glad to lend them to Mrs. Reagan, he said, "since the designers profit so much from her
wearing them."
Even if the dresses were only "loaned" to Mrs. Reagan, it was apparently an
interest-free, rent-free loan and that's taxable income, said Wolfman of Harvard. He said
the First Lady might be able to argue that the loans didn't have to be reported because
the value was so minimal, but that will be a tough case to make.
Time brought in fashion buyers who from photos estimated the value of some 300 of
Mrs. Reagan's outfits at between $ 1 million and $ 1.4 million, not counting a $ 480,000
necklace and a pair of $ 800,000 earrings once loaned by Harry Winston, the New York
jeweler.
The jewels were no worse for wear, but even a one-night use of a $ 5,000 dress
detracts dramatically from its value, especially when it's a tiny size 4 that's been tailored
to fit. At Encore, the Cleveland Park consignment shop where wealthy women dispose of
their slightly-used Bill Blasses and the like, a good-as-new dress goes for one-third its
original price, even if it's been worn only once. The more expensive a dress is, the more
it depreciates, an Encore spokeswomen said. "People won't pay more than $ 1,000 for a
used dress, no matter what it cost new."
Mrs. Reagan can't claim the dresses were a tax-deductible expense, the tax experts
agree, because the IRS and the Tax Court have repeatedly thrown out such claims,
insisting that only uniforms are tax deductible business expense.
Even the most generous view of the First Lady's free wardrobe is that it's a case the
U.S. Tax Court ought to decide. But to get the issue to court, the IRS must reaudit the
Reagans' tax returns going back several years and accuse them of underpaying. That's
not unprecedented; the IRS did it to the Nixons after Watergate.
The First Lady's failure to declare what prominent tax experts estimate is
potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars of income puts the IRS in an embarrassing
position. Under procedures instituted by Republican former IRS commissioner Donald
Alexander, the service must audit the returns of the president and vice president every
year.
"I sympathize with the IRS people. It's obviously awkward for them," said CU tax
professor Posin. "But the fact of the matter is that these dresses -- whether kept or given
back -- are income."
The IRS can't very well ignore the disclosures, since it pays hundreds of thousands of
dollars a year in rewards to people who turn in tax evaders. Tax tattlers can get up to 10
percent of whatever the government collects in unpaid taxes. They ought to give a couple
of Nancy's designer dresses to the people who blew the whistle on the free frocks.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
1989
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
PRESS BRIEFING
BY
MARLIN FITZWATER
May 15, 1989
The Briefing Room
10:30 A.M. EDT
MR. FITZWATER: We're handing out the financial
disclosure forms right now, so it will just take a second. We have a
lot of things backed up here this morning, but we'll try to get them
all in for you.
Let me just give you a few notes here. I'll go through
the financial disclosure rules -- forms with you right now. Then
we'll bring on Roger Porter who will provide a background briefing
attributable to a senior administration official. His briefing, an
advanced text of the President's speech and a fact sheet on the crime
package are all embargoed for 12:00 p.m.
Q
When do we get that?
MR. FITZWATER: And we'll get that as soon as he starts
briefing, as soon as we finish financial disclosure. Is everybody
clear on that? If so, and if we've got financial disclosure forms
passed out, let's hurriedly go through here. I don't think there's
too many questions just because it's very close to previous years,
but nevertheless --
Page one, as you can see if you've all got it, is the one
with the signature on it. The President signed this on May 11th.
This was prepared by his attorneys, Andrews and Kurth, of Houston,
Texas. There is one thing I would call to your attention here and
that is that the financial disclosure forms that are required of the
government now, that I sign, I fill out, and everyone else, have
categories of investment income and those categories have fairly wide
ranges which you're aware of. The President has proposed in his new
ethics package that more specific data be provided and, therefore, he
is in this form proposing more specific information and his income
will be provided to the nearest thousandth of a dollar. So he will
have specific -- we'll have specific numbers in here as you go
through it, even though it's not required and other members of the
government will not.
Q
What are his total assets? Can you give us a dollar
figure?
MR. FITZWATER: I don't have -- yes, if you'll turn to
page one. The assets and incomes is a reference to -- see exhibits A
and B -- so then turn to the next page which shows block A, assets
and incomes sources. That shows the total value of his blind trust
at $998,000.
Q
So that's everything?
MR. FITZWATER: That's everything in the blind trust.
You can add up other things in here. I don't have any -- but this is
most everything.
Q
Marlin, how come the house isn't -- there's no
MORE
#54-05/15
- 6 -
that the one you're talking about, from Zahedi? Small reindeer --
let's see if I have anything else on that. I take it the numbers in
my backup have no relation, so I'm just going to --
MR. COOPER: It's alphabetical --
MR. FITZWATER: Which one?
MR. COOPER: It's alphabetical by the name of the donor
or the name of the gift?
MR. COOPER: Name of the donor.
MR. FITZWATER: Name of the donor. Well, that would make
Zahedi presumably at the end. Yes, small reindeer from Washington
Harbor Flowers -- blue stone picture frame is all it says. It's an
8" X 10" picture.
Q
It's not a reindeer, it's a picture of a reindeer,
is that it?
MR. FITZWATER: Yes, it's pretty hard to get a real
reindeer in a picture frame. (Laughter.)
Q
What did he do with $21,000 in gifts in one year?
What does he do with them? Does he use them, does he put them in the
attic?
MR. FITZWATER: As I said, some of them are at
Kennebunkport in storage there, some are here in the private
quarters, various places.
Q
Does he end up giving any of them away to friends?
Q
Big yard sale.
MR. FITZWATER: I don't know whether he does or not.
Q
Does he keep everything that is sent to him or does
he send some of it back?
MR. FITZWATER: Well, of course there's innumerable
foreign gifts which aren't shown here which are given back, and
there's a lot that aren't kept.
Q
You mean the American people just send him stuff all
the time?
MR. FITZWATER: Yes.
Q
What about the bicycle that he was given to ride in
the White House round and round, remember that?
Q
Marlin, who does the evaluation?
MR. FITZWATER: Pardon?
Q
Who does the evaluation?
MR. FITZWATER: The Gift Unit. There's a State
Department unit that does nothing but that. They evaluate all of our
gifts. My experience with them has been that they're outrageous,
they evaluate everything so you can't keep it. (Laughter.)
Q
Marlin, what is it that you wanted to keep, Marlin,
that you couldn't?
Q
Does he also buy his own fishing gear, tennis
rackets and running shoes in addition to the ones he got as gifts?
MORE
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MR. FITZWATER: He buys some of his own, yes.
Q Marlin, did I understand you to say the --
MR. FITZWATER: Some of it he uses, yes. Yes, I'm ready
to move on, let's go. Anything else?
Q Did -I understand you to say that the foreign gifts
are not included here, the ones he sent back --
MR. FITZWATER: Well, foreign gifts that are over $180
that he doesn't keep are not listed, of course. There's a lot of
those.
Q
Have we gotten to the liabilities yet -- the next
question.
MR. FITZWATER: No, let's move on.
Q Marlin?
MR. FITZWATER: Yes.
Q
Before we get off assets, does he have other assets
that aren't listed, like his house in Kennebunkport?
MR. FITZWATER: Yes, his house is an asset and it's not
here because you don't have to report houses. You don't report
personal residences.
Okay, let's move on to the end of this to the next
section which is part one, liabilities.
Yes, Dave, go ahead.
Q
I was wondering what roughly is his net worth?
MR. FITZWATER: I don't know. I offer you the numbers
here, but we offer no other number.
Q I want to ask for a clarification on that housing
rule. Is that principle primary residence, because what about the
land in Houston?
MR. FITZWATER: I don't know. Can you make a check?
MR. COOPER: It's not income producing.
MR. FITZWATER: What?
MR. COOPER: I believe it's not income producing,
therefore, it doesn't have to show here.
MR. FITZWATER: I guess that was it. B. Jay says he
thinks because it's not income producing it doesn't have to be shown.
He has a lot in Houston but there's no -- I guess that would be right
of all residences if they're not -- we'd better make a call on it,
check with us later. I don't know, if you own 17 houses, do none of
them show? If none of them produce income, I don't know.
MR. COOPER: If they're private residences -- but let me
double-check.
MR. FITZWATER: Yes, we'd better double-check.
Q
You can't live on a lot.
MR. FITZWATER: Okay, liabilities, see attached D.
Attached D shows Connecticut General Life -- well, what it shows is
three loans that the President took out in 1979 at a five percent
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interest rate. They were all paid off in the reporting period, which
would have been in 1989. The numbers -- the values at the right hand
column says the amount of value are the amounts of the loan and they
were paid off over the 10-year period. They're reported here because
they were paid off in the reporting year.
Agreements or --
Q
Marlin, were they to finance his first presidential
campaign?
MR. FITZWATER: Pardon?
Q
Why were the loans taken out?
MR. FITZWATER: I don't know.
Agreements or arrangements, part two. It says the
reporting individual has an interest in a deferred compensation
benefit plan created by Zapata. That was the one referenced earlier.
Where was that? If you want to go back to that, let's see, I know
it's back at the beginning.
Q
Marlin, could I ask one question about the
liability?
MR. FITZWATER: Wait, let me finish this little point
first. Page four -- page four shows deferred compensation
arrangement with Zapata Corporation - -- next to the last reference --
item $18,000. That is deferred compensation that he does not receive
until he retires at age 60 -- or until he reaches age 65, which would
be June 12, 1989. So that there's no income to him now, however,
it's listed as income because it will be when he reaches that age.
And that also is the agreement or arrangement referred to in Part 2.
Go ahead.
Q Under the ethics proposal that he sent up to
Congress earlier this year, officials are going to be required to
report the value of mortgages that they owe. Since he doesn't have
any mortgage liability listed, are we safe to assume that he doesn't
owe any or just that he's not reporting them because he's not
reporting the value of the residence?
MR. FITZWATER: I'd have to double-check. I mean, it
certainly is true that it's not reported because it's not required.
Now, whether there is one that he could do voluntarily or not, I
don't know.
Q
Since on the income stuff you're following the rules
that you're proposing, I'm just not sure which set of rules you're
following on the mortgage.
MR. FITZWATER: Well, I would say that we're following
the proposal on the amount of income and existing rules on everything
else, unless specified otherwise. But this is an interesting point,
and we can check that for you. I just don't know whether he has a
mortgage or not.
All right. Finally, positions held outside the U.S.
government. The only one is the partnership in the barge.
All right. Is there anything else? Are we ready to go
on to the crime package?
Q
Crime package.
Q
Short readout on the meeting this morning?
MR. FITZWATER: Okay. The President met this morning
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1989
PAGE
1
LEVEL 1 - 7 OF 22 STORIES
The Associated Press
The materials in the AP file were compiled by The Associated Press. These
materials may not be republished without the express written consent of The
Associated Press.
May 16, 1989, Tuesday, PM cycle
SECTION: Washington Dateline
LENGTH: 800 words
HEADLINE: Bush Trust Worth $$1 Million
BYLINE: By TOM RAUM, Associated Press Writer
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
KEYWORD: Bush-Quayle Finances
BODY:
George Bush earned $$156,000 from a blind trust worth nearly $$1 million in
his final year as vice president and with his wife Barbara accepted more than
$$21,000 in gifts, a financial disclosure form shows.
The gifts ranged from two $$75 ties for Bush from an official with the
Coca-Cola Co., to a gold watch valued at $$7,800 given to Mrs. Bush by the
Ladies of the Senate Red Cross Chapter.
The form indicated the Bushes have non-real estate assets of $$1.09 million.
In addition, their house in Kennebunkport, Maine - not required to be listed -
is estimated to be worth about $$1 million, taking their likely net worth past
$$2 million.
It was the first time that the exact value of Bush's trust - $$998,000 at
year's end had been disclosed. The trust was set up in January 1981 when Bush,
a former Texas oil executive, became vice president.
Bush was not required to list specific amounts on his holdings and income,
but did so anyway.
Presidential press secretary Marlin Fitzwater said "the president has
proposed in his new ethics package that more specific data be provided" and he
wanted to set an example.
The example was not followed by Vice President Dan Quayle, however, who filed
a far less detailed disclosure statement.
Quayle's filing showing assets held by him and his wife Marilyn in 1988 -
when he was a senator representing Indiana - of no less than $$440,000 and up to
$$740,000 or more.
During his campaign, Quayle valued his net worth at slightly under $$1
million.
PAGE
2
The Associated Press, May 16, 1989
Quayle reported income on holdings of from $$18,500 to $$52,000. He also
reported fees for speeches of $$52,797 - of which he donated $$17,304 to
charities to keep within the federal limit on honoraria.
Computing his worth is further complicated because Quayle's major asset - his
99 shares and his wife's 40 shares in Central Newspapers Inc. - have no set
market value since the company is family-owned and the stock is not traded,
according to his press secretary, David Beckwith.
Beckwith said Quayle technically was not required to fill out a financial
disclosure form for 1988 - he was between jobs at year's end - but did so
anyway. Beckwith said the one he files next year is likely to follow Bush's
lead in providing greater detail.
Bush's report, his first as president, also showed that earlier this year he
paid off $$49,000 in three loans he took out in 1979 against life insurance
policies.
Bush's pay as president is $$200,000 a year; Quayle's salary as vice
president is $$115,000.
Bush put the value of his share of a Houston barge company, which state
documents filed in Austin show is a joint business venture with Secretary of
State James A. Baker III and Commerce Secretary Robert Mosbacher, at $$31,000.
Bush earned $$11,962 last year on the investment, the financial document
showed.
Other assets listed by Bush include: $$1,000 in a White House savings
account; $$3,000 in an interest-bearing checking account in Kennebunkport;
$$28,000 in an individual retirement account for himself and $$2,300 in a
companion IRA for Mrs. Bush.
The forms also show a life insurance policy on Mrs. Bush with a cash value of
$$13,000.
They show that as of Dec. 31, Bush had about $$6,000 in a regular checking
account in a Washington bank and about $$5,000 in a checking account in Houston.
He also listed an $$18,000 "deferred compensation arrangement" that he will
get at age 65 - this June - from the Zapata Corp., the offshore oil drilling
company he set up in Texas in the late 1950s.
The Bushes reported gifts of $$21,009 in 1988. Federal law requires that all
gifts worth more than $$100 be reported, and that foreign gifts exceeding $$180
be returned.
Among gifts reported by Bush and his wife were: 10 country and western
cassette tapes from MCA Records, worth $$100; a $$425 pen set from Peter Bentley
of Parker Pens, Janesville, Wis.; and two neckties worth $$150 from Roberto
Goizueta, an executive of the Coca-Cola Co., Atlanta.
Also: a cowboy hat and jacket, worth $$124, from the Houston Livestock Show;
two pairs of walking shoes from the Rockport Co., valued at $$184; two pairs of
running shoes from Aviva, worth $$100; a porcelain vase worth $$120 from Li
PAGE
3
The Associated Press, May 16, 1989
Changchun, an official in China's Liaoning Provincial Government.
Mrs. Bush reported a Tiffany gold watch, worth $$7,800, from the Ladies of
the Senate Red Cross Chapter. A company called "Footstools Unlimited" gave the
first family two footstools, valued at $$240.
Reported gifts also included more than a dozen paintings and other original
works of art, baseball and flight jackets, fishing reels, various items of food,
pillows, toy soldiers, a lamp, several bowls, cosmetics, caviar, sweaters,
workshirts, picture frames, videotapes, a pool cue, an album of postage stamps
and a wine decanter.
PAGE
4
LEVEL 1 - 10 OF 22 STORIES
Copyright (c) 1989 The New York Times Company;
The New York Times
May 16, 1989, Tuesday, Late City Final Edition
SECTION: Section A; Page 20, Column 2; National Desk
LENGTH: 298 words
HEADLINE: WASHINGTON TALK: SNAPSHOT;
Bush Gift List: From Horseshoes to Caviar
BYLINE: Special to The New York Times
DATELINE: WASHINGTON, May 15
BODY:
Among the documents released in the capital today was one SF 278/ FPM Chapter
734/U.S. Office of Personnel Management, or the Financial Disclosure Report of
Bush, George H. W.; position, President; position(s) held with the Federal
Government in the preceding 12 months, Vice President, through Jan. 19.
There is the blind trust, now valued at $998,000, on which 1988 interest was
$156,000; there is assorted real property; there is a share in a Houston barge
company, a business venture with Secretary of State James A. Baker 3d and
Commerce Secretary Robert A. Mosbacher, and there are the gifts. When Government
officials keep presents worth more than $100, they have to list them on forms
like this. Here is a sampling of the President's list.
Two sets of horseshoes, $218, from Art Bellows, Triangle Corp., Stamford,
Conn; fishing reels, $100, from Bob Boilard, Biddleford, Me. ; twelve miniature
toy soldiers, $125, from Jerry E. Finger, Houston; two tins of caviar, $100,
from Mr. and Mrs. Herbert S. Hoffman, Hoffman Apparel International Co., Boston;
cowboy hat, jacket, $124, Houston Livestock Show, Houston; Tiffany & Company
gold watch, $7,800, Ladies of the Senate Red Cross Chapter. (On that last there
is a footnote: made to the reporting individual's spouse in recognition of her
meritorious public contribution as president of the chapter.) Fishing rod and
reel, $380, Leigh Perkins, Orvis, Manchester, N.H.; flight jacket, cap,
brochures, videotape, $200, Paul Poberezny, Experimental Aircraft Association,
Oshkosh, Wis.; wine decanter and wine glasses, hand-carved statue, $167, West
Virginia University, Morgantown, W.Va.; Two pair running shoes, $100, Sue Wiley,
Aviva, Portland, Ore.; small reindeer, picture frame, $245, Ardeshir Zahedi,
Montreux, Switzerland.
GRAPHIC: drawing
SUBJECT: DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION; GIFTS
NAME: BUSH, GEORGE (PRES)
TITLE: WASHINGTON TALK PAGE (NYT)
PAGE
5
LEVEL 1 - 15 OF 22 STORIES
1989
The Associated Press
The materials in the AP file were compiled by The Associated Press. These
materials may not be republished without the express written consent of The
Associated Press.
May 15, 1989, Monday, PM cycle
SECTION: Business News
LENGTH: 429 words
HEADLINE: Bush Blind Trust Earned $$156,000 Last Year
BYLINE: By TOM RAUM, Associated Press Writer
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
KEYWORD: Bush-Finances
BODY:
President Bush earned $$156,000 in 1988 on a blind trust that is valued at
$$998,000, financial disclosure forms released by the White House showed
today.
Bush set up the trust in 1981 when he became vice president.
The report, the first Bush has filed as president, also showed he recently
paid off $$49,000 in loans he took out in 1979 against life insurance policies,
apparently to help finance his first campaign for the presidency.
It also showed that Bush and his wife Barbara accepted over $$20,000 in gifts
in his final year as vice president, ranging from a $$120 vase from a Chinese
official to two $$75 neckties from an executive of the Coca-Cola Co.
The financial disclosure forms also put at $$31,000 the value of his share of
a Houston barge company, a business venture with Secretary of State James A.
Baker III and Commerce Secretary Robert Mosbacher. Bush earned $$11,962 last
year on the investment, the financial document showed.
Presidential press secretary Marlin Fitzwater said that Bush intends to put
his interest in the barge company - which leases liquid petroleum barges to gas
companies in the Gulf of Mexico - into his blind trust, so that it will not
appear directly on the disclosure forms filed in the future.
Overall, the form shows non-real estate assets of Bush and his wife Barbara
at $$1.09 million. Federal law does not require the listing of
non-income-producing real estate on the disclosure forms.
Bush and his wife own an oceanfront house in Kennebunkport, Maine, and a lot
in Houston, with an estimated joint value of something over $$1 million.
Some of the details in the report match figures previously disclosed when
Bush's income tax forms were made public on April 13.
PAGE
6
The Associated Press, May 15, 1989
However, other details, such as the value of his holdings and the list of
gifts, did not show up on the tax forms.
Other assets listed by Bush include: $$1,000 in a White House savings
account, $$3,000 in a interest-bearing checking account in Kennebunkport;
$$28,000 in an individual retirement account for himself and $$2,300 in a
companion IRA for Mrs. Bush.
The forms also show a life insurance policy on Mrs. Bush with a cash value of
$$13,000.
The forms also showed that as of Dec. 31, Bush had about $$6,000 in a regular
checking account in a Washington bank and about $$5,000 in a checking account in
Houston.
He also listed the value of an $$18,000 "deferred compensation arrangement"
that he will get at age 65 - this June - from the Zapata Corp., the now-defunct
offshore oil drilling company he set up in Texas in the late 1950s.
PAGE
7
LEVEL 1 - 17 OF 22 STORIES
Copyright 1989 Reuters
May 15, 1989, Monday, AM cycle
LENGTH: 434 words
HEADLINE: BUSH SAYS IT OFFICIALLY HE'S A MILLIONAIRE
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
BODY:
President Bush said officially Monday what most people have believed for a
long time -- he's a millionaire.
In his annual financial disclosure statement, Bush said his blind trust
was valued at $998,000 on Dec. 31, 1988 and he listed other assets of nearly
$97,000. Bush reported $156,000 in income from the trust in 1988.
The disclosure statement, required by law, did not include his vacation home
in Kennebunkport, Me., or an unimproved lot in Houston.
The statement provided more details than required by current law, but ethics
legislation sent to Congress by Bush earlier this year said financial statements
should be more specific. The White House said the president voluntarily provided
extra information to set a good example.
Bush could have reported the value of his trust as "over $250,000." His
ethics bill proposes the disclosure of the actual value of financial assets,
rounded to the nearest thousand dollars.
Vice President Dan Quayle did not follow the president's lead in a financial
disclosure statement he filed Monday.
Quayle's statement, filed voluntarily since he was a U.S. senator in 1988 and
not subject to the reporting required of executive branch officials, listed his
net work as "over $250,000."
Spokesman David Beckwith said it was "almost impossible" for Quayle to show
the exact value of his holdings since they consist mostly of stock in a family
newspaper chain that is not publicly traded.
"Keep in mind that he (Quayle) issued a financial disclosure report during
last year's campaign which listed his net worth as under $1 million," Beckwith
said.
Quayle's statement also included an attachment which said he would be
entitled to a 1/12th share of interest income from a multi-million dollar family
trust after the death of his step-grandmother and mother.
"Based on current actuarial tables, Senator (sic) Quayle would not receive
his 1/12th income interest until approximately 20 years from now," it said.
Bush's report also showed that he and his wife, Barbara, received $21,009
worth of gifts valued at $100 or more, including a $7,800 gold watch presented
to Mrs. Bush by "the Ladies of the Senate Red Cross Chapter" in recognition of
PAGE
8
Reuters, May 15, 1989
her service as president of the group from 1981 to 1988 while her husband was
vice president.
The group, composed of senators' wives, is traditionally headed by the wife
of the vice president.
Public officials may keep all gifts received from other Americans, but must
disclose those valued at $100 or more.
Gifts from foreigners must be turned over to the government if their value
exceeds $180.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
1959
PAGE
9
LEVEL 1 - 19 OF 22 STORIES
Copyright (c) 1989 The Times Mirror Company;
Los Angeles Times
May 15, 1989, Monday, P.M. Final
SECTION: Part A; Page 2; Column 1; Late Final Desk
LENGTH: 159 words
HEADLINE: NATION;
BUSH REPORTS BLIND TRUST EARNINGS OF $156,000 IN '88, $20,000 IN GIFTS
BYLINE: From Times wire services
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
BODY:
President Bush earned $156,000 in 1988 on a blind trust that is valued at
$998,000, financial disclosure forms released by the White House showed today.
Bush set up the trust in 1981 when he became vice president.
The report, the first Bush has filed as President, also showed that he
recently paid off $49,000 in loans he took out in 1979 against life insurance
policies, apparently to help finance his first campaign for the presidency.
It also showed that Bush and his wife, Barbara, accepted over $20,000 in
gifts in his final year as vice president, ranging from a $120 vase from a
Chinese official to two $75 neckties from an executive of the Coca-Cola Co.
The financial disclosure forms also put at $31,000 the value of his share of
a Houston barge company, a business venture with Secretary of State James A.
Baker III and Commerce Secretary Robert Mosbacher. Bush earned $11,962 last year
on the investment, the financial document showed.
Brief; Wire
PAGE
10
LEVEL 1 - 21 OF 22 STORIES
Proprietary to the United Press International 1989
May 15, 1989, Monday, BC cycle
SECTION: Washington News
LENGTH: 559 words
HEADLINE: Bush's assets top $1 million, Quayle's near
BYLINE: By HELEN THOMAS, UPI White House Reporter
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
KEYWORD: Bush-Assets
BODY:
President Bush had assets of well over $1 million, most of them held in a
blind trust, at the end of 1988, according to a financial disclosure statement
released Monday.
In providing the required annual accounting of his finances, the president's
statement, prepared by his Houston accountants, was more specific than in the
past in line with proposals made in his government ethics legislative package.
Bush listed assets held in the blind trust as totaling $998,000 as of Dec.
31, 1988, from which he received an income of $156,000.
Bush also cited some $96,000 in dividends and interests from a limited
partnership engaged in leasing a liquid petroleum gas tanker to gas companies; a
couple of Individual Retirement Accounts and a life insurance policy.
White House press secretary Marlin Fitzwater told reporters that Bush did not
include his summer home at Kennebunkport, Maine -- believed to be valued at over
$1 million -- nor his property in Houston in the accounting because they were
exempt from disclosure.
As liabilities, Bush listed three loans totaling $49,000, taken from
insurance companies in 1979 at an interest rate of 5 percent, all of which were
paid off in 1988.
Also listed were gifts to Bush and his wife, Barbara. Mrs. Bush received the
most expensive present among those listed, a Tiffany gold watch valued at nearly
$8,000 from the Ladies of the Senate Red Cross Chapter. Fitzwater said it was
traditional farewell gift from the group, which Mrs. Bush belonged to while her
husband was vice president and presiding officer of the Senate.
Gifts to Bush included 10 cassette tapes of Western music, valued under $100;
two sets of horseshoes, boots and walking shoes, 12 miniature soldiers, and
food, including two tins of caviar. Also listed were 26 neckties from different
friends, a Waterford crystal desk set, a cowboy hat, four baseball jackets and a
tennis racket.
Under the federal government's gift rule for officials, the president may
keep any gift from a domestic source of any amount and he does not have to
PAGE
11
Proprietary to the United Press International, May 15, 1989
report any present valued at under $100.
Bush and other federal officials must report any gift valued at more than
$180. He is allowed to keep any gift from a foreign source that is not worth
more than $100.
The gifts are evaluated by the State Department's gift unit.
Acting voluntarily, Vice President Dan Quayle also issued a disclosure
statement for 1988, showing his assets as around $1 million, the largest share
of them stock in the Pulliam family's Central Newspapers published in
Indianapolis and Phoenix, Arize.
Quayle has 99 shares in Central Newspapers valued at roughly $550,000, while
his wife, Marilyn, holds 40 shares said to be worth some $250,000.
Like Bush's home, Quayle's home in Mclean, Va., valued at $400,000, was not
reported in the statement.
Quayle was an Indiana senator in 1988 and not subject disclosure laws for
federal officials.
The statement had an addendum describing Quayle's interest in the Pulliam
Family Trust -- widely believed to be worth more than $1 billion all told -- set
up by his grandfather, publishing magnate Eugene C. Pulliam.
It said that Quayle ''will never acquire any ownership interest in the
Trust's assets. Following the deaths of his step-grandmother and mother,
Quayle would be entitled to 1/12th of the trust's annual income.
1996
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
PRESS BRIEFING
BY
MARLIN FITZWATER
May 15, 1990
The Briefing Room
12:00 P.M. EDT
MR. FITZWATER: Let's get started. We do have about six or
seven things to discuss. So let's go through them in order here, and
get it all out of the way.
First of all, the President's financial disclosure forms,
which you have been handed. I have here the rules, and rather than
go through every item -- this really won't take very long. But let
me just remind you all of the basic rules, which are that -- which
are governed by the Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act -- applies
equally across the federal government, including members of Congress.
Basically, these apply to gifts that are received from a
foreign government or agents of a foreign government, as well as
domestically. But let me just say, first of all, that as we start
through this, under this law, gifts of more than $180 from foreign
governments or foreign agents may only be accepted on behalf of the
United States government. And any over that become government
property and do not appear on this form, but are reported annually to
the State Department. Gifts of $180 or less may be accepted
personally, and these do appear on this form. Similarly, domestic
gifts may be accepted in any amount as long as they are reported on
this form. If they're under $100, they do not have to be.
Q
Any amount?
MR. FITZWATER: Yes.
So with that brief summary of the rules, let me just go
through this. Page 1 would be financial disclosure report as you see
it here. And that says only the date and name and so forth. If we
turn to the second page, which would be assets and income, this shows
basically that there are exhibits attached. And you can turn quickly
to the next page, which is exhibit A. Exhibit A says page 3 in the
upper right-hand corner. And essentially, all that points out is
that the President's blind trust is valued at $1.275 million. It is
a qualified trust. And on that he reported taxable income of
$208,000. And that, of course, was a part of his income tax form
that we went over here sometime ago. Similarly, the $9,000
tax-exempt income and the capital gain of $36,000 were all detailed
for you in that tax submission to the IRS.
So let's turn on to exhibit B. It says page 4 in the upper
right-hand corner. Property not held in a qualified blind trust.
This is all fairly explanatory. But just to race through it, he owns
the residential lot in Houston, valued at $81,000; the residence at
Kennebunkport assessed valuation of $892,000. Then cash accounts,
and four of those -- you'll see those listed there -- $8,000, $1,000,
$12,000 and $11,000.
Q Why does he have noninterest-bearing checking accounts?
Why would anybody do that?
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limit on a domestic gift at all if it's reported?
MR. FITZWATER: There's no cap on the value on gifts as
long as they're reported.
Q
How about the $800 cup and saucer, Marlin?
MR. FITZWATER: Let me just explain that the President
gives away a lot of these gifts. You'll see one, for example, the 25
caps. He gives those out to friends. Some of them he gives --
Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse statues, he gives to his grandchildren.
So that's a source of a lot of --
Q
Some to the Marlin Fitzwater tennis tournament.
MR. FITZWATER: And some to -- the give Marlin Fitzwater
annual invitational tennis tournament.
Q
Marlin, What are the ones that he has to pay for if
he wants to keep? The ones that are over $180?
MR. FITZWATER: Yes. There would be -- any that are over
the $180 that he would turn in to the government. There is a process
by which those are auctioned off or which they can be purchased.
I'll be honest with you. I've pressed the State Department
for 25 years and have never been able to discover how in the world
you do that. But supposedly, there is a process for doing it.
Q
Does this then show which ones he has bought and
kept, if any?
MR. FITZWATER: It does not show ones that he just turned
in to the State Department.
Q
You mean these are all things that he has kept?
MR. FITZWATER: These are all things that he has kept.
Q
So if it's valued over $180, we can assume that he
paid?
MR. FITZWATER: If it's valued over $180, you can assume --
and it's not on this list -- you can assume that he's given it to the
government. The State Department has it.
Q
But if it's valued over $180 and it is on this list,
then he paid for it, or what?
MR. FITZWATER: No. If it's over $180 and it's on this
list, it means it's either a domestically-given gift or -- that's it.
or it's a personal gift. or it's a personal gift ruled not to be a
federal -- from a foreign government or foreign agent. That's the
case of the Aga Khan gift.
0
Where does he put all this stuff?
MR. FITZWATER: He's got some of it at Kennebunkport, some
here.
Q
What does the "s" mean? The column that has the --
MR. FITZWATER: Those are the gifts that go go to Mrs.
Bush, spouse.
Let's just see if there's any others that jump out at us as
we flip through the pages here.
I
How many baseball cards did he get from Stan Musial?
And what were they?
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MR. FITZWATER: I don't know.
I don't think there are any others in here that are not
pretty self-explanatory.
Q
Marlin, two gifts in here to Millie. Does she have
her own disclosure, or are these all --
MR. FITZWATER: We disclose Millie's gifts for her on a
voluntary basis. (Laughter.)
Q
That's not marked with an "s"?
MR. FITZWATER: What?
Q
Except for the gifts she gave to --
MR. FITZWATER: That's right. Let's move on.
Q
Are all these friends of President? These aren't
just unsolicited things that --
MR. FITZWATER: Some of them are. Some of these are people
who just sent him in -- cowboy boots and things like that.
Q
Marlin, the President reports an interest in the
IRAs. Are there any other retirement or pension plans in which he
has a reportable interest?
MR. FITZWATER: Not outside the blind trust. I don't know
about in the blind trust.
Q
Do you have a figure for the blind trust for last
year? Is this the same as it was?
MR. FITZWATER: For last year? No, it's an increase over
last year. I do have that. Do you have it handy, Steve? I know
I've got it here, but -- here it is. Looking at last year's form,
$998,000, right? Yes. Last year the blind trust was valued at
$998,000. And the amount of income on the trust was $156,000. Does
that take care of you, Terry?
Q
What is it? $998,000?
MR. FITZWATER: Yes. Last year -- $998,000.
Q
Now it's up to $1.2 million?
MR. FITZWATER: Now it's up to $1.275 million.
2
So that's -- when you say the $156,000, is that the
ordinary taxable income, or is that everything?
MR. FITZWATER: Last year it just had it said he didn't
differentiate. I don't know why. I can show it to you if you want
to take a look at it.
Is there anything else on this form to take care of here?
Q
No.
Q
This is the deadline, isn't it?
MR. FITZWATER: May 15, yes.
Q
Who elses can we have from the White House?
MR. FITZWATER: All the other top officials of the
administration are available. The process is -- I better
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#202-05/15
- 5 -
double-check this. If they want mine, where do they get it?
MR. HART: I think it's through the Office of Government
Ethics.
MR. FITZWATER: No. Go check that on the phone so I can
do that before we end the briefing. Because there is a way to do
that, and I know that you've all requested those in the past.
There's a form that we take care of down here and submit it and all
that stuff.
Q
Marlin, you can tell us the gift that you like the
best.
MR. FITZWATER: The gift I like the best?
Q
Yes, on your form.
MR. FITZWATER: On my form?
Q
Yes.
MR. FITZWATER: I don't get many gifts.
Q Ahhh. (Laughter.)
Q
Cigars?
Q
That and the checking account -- it's the story of
dispair, Marlin. (Laughter.)
Q
Did Quayle bring you a doll?
MR. FITZWATER: I got a lacquer box from Grobachev.
That's my favorite gift. Which I can't keep because of the value,
but I can keep it on display in the White House, so it's in my
office. But you can look at it any time you like.
Q
You can buy it.
MR. FITZWATER: That's right. I've inquired about this
buying concept for years and they never tell you how to do it.
Q
Just take it, take it. (Laughter.) They won't
know.
Q
We won't tell.
MR. FITZWATER: All right. Let's go on here. Quickly,
several items. First of all, industrial production fell .4 percent
in April after increasing .5 percent in March. Today's data on
industrial production and capacity utilization suggests that the
sluggish conditions in the industrial sector are persisting. Not
particularly good news.
This morning at 9:30 a.m. the President received the
report of the President's Commission on Aviation Security and
Terrorism. It was presented by Commission Chairman Ann McLaughlin
and members, Senators Lautenberg and D'Amato, Representatives
Oberstar and Hammerschmidt, Former Secretary of the Navy Hidalgo and
Retired Air Force General Richards.
Chairman McLaughlin reviewed the charge given the
Commission. She discussed the conclusions briefly. And the
President is meeting with the Pan Am 103 families at 11:45 a.m. I
think that's probably over now.
The Commission met with the families to discuss the
report with them and the recommendations. The President met with
them briefly. And the Commission will hold a press conference at
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#202-05/15
PAGE
1
LEVEL 1 - 7 OF 11 STORIES
Copyright (c) 1990 The New York Times Company;
The New York Times
May 16, 1990, Wednesday, Late Edition - Final
SECTION: Section A; Page 22, Column 1; National Desk
LENGTH: 369 words
HEADLINE: For Bush, Christmas All Year
BYLINE: By ANDREW ROSENTHAL, Special to The New York Times
DATELINE: WASHINGTON, May 15
BODY:
In his first year in office, President Bush received 83 caps, 66 golf balls,
51 neckties, 36 shirts, 25 books about the Constitution, 13 pairs of cowboy
boots, 9 Mickey and Minnie Mouse dolls, 6 fishing rods, 3 tins of caviar and 2
''We the People'' cufflinks. The Gorbachevs gave him a box of Christmas tree
ornaments.
That is just the tip of the pile, according to a financial disclosure form
released by the White House today.
Inundated with gifts, like other Presidents, Mr. Bush got a $425 sweater
from the designer Ralph Lauren, a golf club from Lee Trevino and a tennis outfit
from Bjorn Borg. His wife, Barbara, got four evening bags worth $3,102 from
Judith Leiber, the New York designer.
Federal law allows the President to keep anything he wants from an American
citizen so long as he discloses gifts worth $100 or more. Gifts worth more than
$180 from foreigners must be turned over to the State Department unless the
White House lists them as "private" - like the Aga Khan's neckties and watch
($300) or the box of Christmas ornaments, tinsel and a shawl for Mrs. Bush sent
by Mikhail and Raisa Gorbachev ($200). Each year, the President tells the world
what he got on a financial diclosure form required of senior Federal officials.
Some presents reflected the President's tastes. A number of people sent
fishing reels and golf balls and sweatshirts and running shoes. Other gifts said
more about the sender, like the ''We the People'' cufflinks and 25 books about
the Constitution from former Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, head of the
Bicentennial celebration of the Constitution.
Mickey, Minnie and Millie
There was a crystal apple from Lewis Rudin of New York, a mint julep cup from
Mrs. Mark Scearce of Shellbyville, Ky. and a pair of $995 cowboy boots from Mr.
and Mrs. Rocky Carroll of Houston. And Mickey Mouse dolls -and a set of Mickey
and Minnie statuettes - from Michael Eisner, chairman of Walt Disney
Productions.
Millie, the First Dog, got a bed and a ''gingerbread house. Technically,
Millie is not required to file a financial disclsoure form. But Marlin
Fitzwater, the White House spokesman, said, "We disclose Millie's gifts for
PAGE
2
(c) 1990 The New York Times, May 16, 1990
her - on a voluntary basis. 1
,
SUBJECT: GIFTS; DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION
NAME: BUSH, GEORGE (PRES) ; BUSH, BARBARA (MRS GEORGE BUSH) ; ROSENTHAL, ANDREW
PAGE
3
LEVEL 1 - 8 OF 11 STORIES
Copyright 1990 Sentinel Communications Co.
Orlando Sentinel Tribune
May 16, 1990 Wednesday, 3 STAR
SECTION: A SECTION; Pg. A3
LENGTH: 265 words
HEADLINE: EVEN MILLIE GETS GIFTS FLOWING TO THE BUSHES
BYLINE: Compiled From Wire Reports
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
KEYWORD: BUSH FAMILY CHARITY STAT
BODY:
President Bush and his wife accepted at least $26,839 worth of gifts last
year, including cowboy boots and baseball cards, $3,100 worth of evening bags,
and a gingerbread house for their dog Millie, the White House said Tuesday.
Sports equipment was the most frequent gift the president accepted, according
to a financial disclosure form released by the White House on Tuesday. Bush
kept seven dozen hats, four dozen neckties, three dozen T-shirts, one dozen
fishing rods and seven sweatsuits.
The givers included the Aga Khan, who gave two neckties and a watch worth
$300; Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and his wife, Raisa, Christmas
ornaments and children's books worth $125; designer Ralph Lauren, a $425
sweater; and golfer Lee Trevino, whose $466 worth of presents included 11 golf
shirts, two caps, one club and six instructional videotapes.
Presidents get thousands of gifts each year and turn most of them over to the
government. But Bush and his wife, Barbara, kept 92 presents, according to the
disclosure form, which reports only gifts worth $100 or more.
The president was required to hand over to the State Department all gifts
worth more than $180 from foreigners - with some exceptions. He can keep gifts
deemed personal presents from friends, as he did with the Aga Khan's neckties
and watch.
Presidential spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said Bush gives away a lot of the
gifts to his grandchildren and family friends but keeps many of them for use at
the White House; Camp David, the presidential retreat; and Bush's vacation home
at Kennebunkport, Maine.
PAGE
4
LEVEL 1 - 9 OF 11 STORIES
Copyright 1990 Gannett Company Inc.
USA TODAY
May 16, 1990, Wednesday, FINAL EDITION
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 1A
LENGTH: 185 words
HEADLINE: Bush: Gifts for all sports
BYLINE: Jessica Lee
BODY:
USA gift-givers picture George Bush the sportsman - not the statesman.
The president received equipment for golf, jogging, fishing, tennis and
baseball - worth about $ 10,000 - his 1989 financial disclosure form showed
Tuesday.
Together, the Bushes accepted personal gifts worth about $ 27,000, including:
- 9 Mickey and Minnie Mouse dolls and statues worth $ 331 from Walt Disney
chief Michael Eisner.
- Sweatshirt, socks and shirts worth $ 125 from Notre Dame basketball coach
Digger Phelps.
- Baseball gear worth $ 175 from the late commissioner, A. Bartlett Giamatti.
- Baseball cards from Hall of Famer Stan Musial.
By law, Bush must turn over to the State Department official gifts worth more
than $ 180 from foreigners. He may keep gifts from U.S. citizens but report
those worth more than $ 100.
Designer Judith Leiber's gift of four evening bags to first lady Barbara Bush
topped the list at $ 3,102.
Bush's most expensive gift: cowboy boots worth $ 995 from Mr. and Mrs. Rocky
Campbell, Houston.
Even first dog Millie got a bed and a gingerbread house, both valued at $
100.
SUBJECT: PRESIDENCY; GIFT
PAGE
8
LEVEL 1 - 11 OF 11 STORIES
Copyright 1990 Reuters
May 15, 1990, Tuesday, AM cycle
LENGTH: 159 words
HEADLINE: BUSH FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE STATEMENT SHOWS HE'S A MILLIONAIRE
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
BODY:
President Bush released a financial disclosure statement Tuesday showing
the value of assets held in a blind trust as $1.275 million- an increase in his
net worth of $277,000 over last year.
Bush's disclosure statement also shows that he and Barbara Bush received a
box of glass Christmas ornaments, a shawl and books for their grandchildren as
Christmas gifts from Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and his wife Raisa last
year.
Bush and other high-level officials are required by law to file the
disclosure statement annually.
There was no detailed breakdown on the increase in value of Bush's assets.
They are held in a blind trust managed by professional financial experts without
his involvement to avoid possible conflicts of interest.
The trust was valued at $998,000 a year ago.
However, most of the increase apparently came from higher earnings. Bush
disclosed unspecified earnings of $156,000 in 1988 and $243,000 last year.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
1991
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
PRESS BRIEFING
BY
MARLIN FITZWATER
Information Center
May 15, 1991
Room 308 OEOB
The Briefing Room
11:15 A.M. EDT
INDEX
SUBJECT
PAGE
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Briefing by Roger Porter and Stuart Gerson
1-7
On Health Care Liability Reform and Quality of
Care Improvement Act of 1991
President's Financial Disclosure Forms
7-10
Baseball Game
10
DOMESTIC
President's Meeting with Senate Policy Members
10-11
President's Health
11-13
FOREIGN
Polish Government to Represent U.S. Interest In Iraq
10
Iraq/Shooting Incident
11
Mideast Policy/Baker's Trip
13-14
11:58 A.M. EDT
#351-05/15
- 9 -
Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. So really nothing new there
either.
Moving on to Exhibit C, page seven, are the gifts.
Q
How come -- golf clubs? (Laughter.)
X
Is that one club? (Laughter.)
MR. FITZWATER: For the totals we have gifts from 84
donors, valued at $22,138.
Q
what's the deal what's the regulation on that?
MR. FITZWATER: The rules, briefly, are that the
President can keep all gifts from domestic sources. He must report
all of them that are valued over $100. And they are subject to the
normal conflict of interest regulations. And the second rule is that
he can keep anything from a foreign source under $200. Anything over
$200 has to be submitted to the government. So this list represents
everything that the President has been given from foreign sources
under $200 or domestic that he chose to keep and report.
Q
So this is all -- this is what he kept?
MR. FITZWATER: This is what he kept. And as you can
see, a good many of these are clothing and so forth.
Q
How do they do the evaluations on these things?
MR. FITZWATER: I really didn't ask that question very --
Q
Somebody does a needlepoint something or other --
how do you know what it's worth?
MR. FITZWATER: There is a gift unit that does these by
-- they go out to places where you buy this or like-ones, and they
get bids and all that.
Those of us who are under this system, of course, think
that those evaluations are all totally screwed up -- (laughter) --
but nevertheless, that's the way it works.
Q Would you pay $150 for a figurine of Millie and
Santa Claus? (Laughter.)
MR. FITZWATER: Let me show you a paperweight worth $200.
(Laughter.)
Running through those briefly, I don't think we need to
go through every name. Essentially, glance through the lists on the
left. If there are any people that you want to know about, why,
please ask. Otherwise, I think it's pretty straightforward. The S
in the column means that they are gifts that are kept by Mrs. Bush --
spousal.
Q
Do they pay taxes on these?
MR. FITZWATER: I don't know what the taxation rule is.
I can't remember when we covered that.
There really aren't any too extraordinary that I notice.
Q
Marlin, are there foreign gifts that they have
decided to purchase from the government?
MR. FITZWATER: I don't believe so, no.
Q
None?
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#351-05/15
- 10 -
MR. FITZWATER: No.
So if there are no questions on the gifts, that
essentially completes the financial disclosure. As you can see from
the last two pages --
Q What does he do with all those fishing rods?
MR. FITZWATER: A lot of them he fishes with. He keeps
some at Kennebunkport, he keeps some at Camp David, he keeps some out
at the golf club. You will recall, he'll play golf and then he'll go
in and get his fishing pole and go over to the creek. So he's got
fishing rods and reels stashed all over the place.
Q
Marlin, is the silver pen from David Frost in
payment for the one-on-one interview, and is that the going rate?
Q Oooooh. (Laughter.)
MR. FITZWATER: Ooooh. How tacky. (Laughter.)
Q
Did he give it back after Frost interviewed
Schwarzkopf? (Laughter.)
MR. FITZWATER: Okay, let's see if we've got anything to
get out of the way here before we get called away. First of all, I
think the pool has been notified and everybody is squared away on the
arrangements for the baseball game tonight. But if not, John Herrick
can certainly go through that with you. As you know, we do have a
travel pool accompanying by chopper and we have a bus that is taking
a sizeable contingent.
Next, the President last night sent a message to the
widow of former Foreign Minister of Japan Shintaro Abe, expressing
condolences over his death, and that was reported last night.
Secondly, this may not be new, but just so you know that
the Polish government has agreed to represent the U.S. interest in
Iraq. They made that agreement on May 6th and assumed responsibility
-- accepted on May 3 and assumed responsibility on May 6. So we
would expect to formalize details of that over the next few days, but
essentially, we will open a U.S. intrasection in our Chancery in
Baghdad under the flag of Poland.
2
Did the U.S. ask Poland for that, or did Poland
propose itself?
MR. FITZWATER: We asked Poland.
Q
Is there a reciprocal arrangement for Iraq in
Washington, or are they just going to keep their embassy open --
MR. FITZWATER: Iraq is having a similar arrangement with
Algeria, I believe.
I can give you an update on the refugee situation, on
Bangladesh aid -- either of those, or we can go to questions,
whichever you like.
Q
This is a question. I was just curious about the
President's meeting today on the Hill with the -- I guess the
luncheon with Republican senators. Are there particular issues he's
going to raise? What's the purpose of this?
MR. FITZWATER: He wants to discuss the domestic agenda
in general and the crime bill and fast track in particular. We'll
have a travel pool accompany the President. Normally, there's always
a stakeout afterwards, and I wouldn't be surprised if the President
stopped at the stakeout just to say a few words about what transpired
in the meeting. Essentially, this is the Senate Policy luncheon,
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#351-05/15
1992
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
May 14, 1992
PRESS BRIEFING
BY DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY JUDY SMITH
The Briefing Room
May 14, 1992
11:19 A.M. EDT
MS. SMITH: Why don't we go through the schedule first
and then we'll start on the President's financial disclosure forms.
Q Where's Marlin?
MS. SMITH: Ke's probably upstairs now turning on his
box, saying, "Oh, poor Judy." (Laughter.)
Q
He did this to you, Judy.
MS. SMITH: He did. I know. We should go demand a
protest here.
As you're well aware, this morning the President had a
bipartisan meeting on the budget amendment. It was a good meeting.
We look forward to working with Congress to get a balanced budget
amendment passed.
Later on today at 11:35 a.m. the President will have a
photo with the Mother and Father of the Year of Multiple Sclerosis.
In addition, at 12:50 p.m., there will be a travel pool accompanying
the President to depart to the Anacostia Park where he will receive a
tour of the Pathway to Fishing and a demonstration and address the
Take Pride In America Volunteers.
What that basically is, is the month of May has been
designated 'as National Take Pride in America. It's a Take Pride in
America group which focuses on urban recreation sites. In the
District that includes Anacostia, Fort Dupont, and Rock Creek parks.
And he'll have brief remarks there that will highlight the need for
everyone to get involved in terms of volunteering, and also he'll
highlight the importance of recreation.
Q Judy, in connection with that, how long ago was
that scheduled?
MS. SMITH: I don't have the answer to that. It's been
on the schedule for a while; I don't know exactly when it was added
on. But just based on what I said, that May is National Take Pride
in America month, and we've been doing this for the past few years.
So it's not a new event.
Q
But was Anacostia scheduled as the place
originally?
MS. SMITH: Yes, yes. There's been no other place
scheduled. I just don't know -- yes.
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#459-05/14
- 4 -
Q
You said it was $600, but this says it's non or
less that $201. Which is correct?
MS. SMITH: I said last year.
Royalties from the book --
Q
It's declining, Judy.
MS. SMITH: Thank you, Frank.
Royalties from the book, "Looking Forward," the amount
of income on that is $1,400. Last year that was $7,000.
Q It's not selling, huh?
MS. SMITH: Well, I think it's largely due to the fact
that it's been out on the market for a while. Royalties from the
book, "Millie's Book," the amount of income -- and you remember these
figures from the President's taxes that we did -- was $889,200. And
that's the royalties and that is reflected in the tax numbers that
the President reported in his tax return.
If you now turn to page six, you notice on Schedule B,
Part 1 and Part 2, there's basically none, there were no
transactions. In terms of gifts and reimbursements, let me suggest
that you turn to page seven, eight, nine, 10, 11 and 12 basically go
over the gifts that the President and Mrs. Bush received. Now, the
--
Q
Can you go through the rules of what he can keep or
what's the dollar limit?
MS. SMITH: Getting right there. The rule is that you
have to report anything that's over $100 that you decide to keep.
Anything under $100 you don't have to report. And the gifts that are
over $100 that the President does not keep, sometimes they go back to
the donor; other times they're designated for his library or
archives.
Q
Who determines the value?
MS. SMITH: We have a whole gift unit that does that.
For example, sometimes when we go on trips he may get gifts and it
goes directly to the gift unit to determine the value.
Q These are the ones he's going to keep?
MS. SMITH: That's exactly right.
Q
What is the limit on what he can keep, Judy?
MS. SMITH: There's not a limit on what he can keep,
there's just reporting requirements.
Q
Of any value he can keep?
Q
Does he even have to pay any taxes on gifts?
MS. SMITH: No, you don't have to pay income taxes on
gifts. I think the rule is, though, if it's over a certain amount,
and I believe that's $10,000, then the donor pays taxes.
Q
Does the "s" mean spouse or what?
MS. SMITH: Yes, it does. It still means spouse.
Q.
He can keep all of these gifts?
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- 5 -
Q
I see you have three bathrobes from Mrs. Ivana
Trump. (Laughter.)
Q
She didn't need them anymore. They were Donald's.
(Laughter.)
Q
-- say it's worth $223?
MS. SMITH: Right. These gifts are gifts that the
President and Mrs. Bush decided to keep. Some of the gifts are from
friends and some of the gifts are just from individuals that wanted
to give the President and Mrs. Bush a gift.
Now, most of the gifts on page seven through 12 are new.
Some of the old ones that I recall from last year are, for example,
on page eight, the Hamptons -- you've got a gift there, eight
neckties and two scarfs; Jefferies that's also an old one from last
year.
Q
You mean they were not reported last year?
MS. SMITH: Right, that -- no, these same individuals
gave gifts last year.
Q
The same gifts?
MS. SMITH: No, they're different gifts and we have
forms available from '91.
Q
He can get three bathrobes and two sweatshirts for
$290?
MS. SMITH: He could as long as he reports it. Another
one that's listed that was from 1991 is Leiber, but the rest of them
are new.
Now, just to give you some comparison here --
Q
Judy, I don't think you answered my question.
MS. SMITH: What was your question, Frank?
Q How do they assign the value? Does the donor tell
them what it cost or do they just assign an arbitrary value to it?
MS. SMITH: No, the gift unit determines that. I don't
know what formula they use, but I would assume that it's certainly
based on an average amount of gift, the rarity of the gift. But the
gift unit decides how much its value.
Q
Is that retail value?
MS. SMITH: I don't have the formula that the gift unit
uses, but those are some of the criteria that they take into
consideration.
Q
Are you saying that he got also many more gifts
from foreign heads of state and so forth, but it's not reported here
because it's more than -- or he gave that --
MS. SMITH: Right, he decided not to keep it. So, say,
for example, a head of state gave him a gift and he decided that he
designated that for his library or it's gone over to Archives.
Q
So that's not reported?
MS. SMITH: Right, that's exactly right.
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- 6 -
Q
He got a good half dozen fishing reels and probably
40 or 50 golf clubs. All of those --
MS. SMITH: That are listed here?
Q
What the devil is he doing with 40 or 50 new golf
clubs?
MS. SMITH: As you know from your early morning pool
coverage, the President plays golf and is certainly an avid fisher
and he decided to keep those gifts.
Q
Does this mean that he decided not to keep any of
the heads' of states gifts as personal possession?
MS. SMITH: No. What it means is that anything that's
over $100 and he decided to keep is reported here. Some of those
heads' of states gifts you could very well see designated for his
library or in the Archives.
Q
Can you explain what the hair products were from
Dan Rostenkowski? (Laughter.) And why he decided to keep them.
MS. SMITH: I'm assuming that he will use the hair
products for hair grooming. (Laughter.)
Q Is he using the downrigger to fix whatever the hair
products have done? (Laughter.)
MS. SMITH: That may be a little creative there.
Let me just go over a gift summary for you.
Q Where is the total value --
MS. SMITH: Getting to it right now. Just as a
comparison, in 1991, the total number of donors were 75; the total
value was $21,329. For 1990, the total number of donors are 84; and
the total value there was $22,138.
In addition, to -- Pascal, let me just go back to your
question for a second --
Q These are kept or not kept?
MS. SMITH: These are the ones he kept -- that's right.
The gift unit also gets -- in addition to their own criteria, they
also receive appraisals from commercial people that are involved in
appraisals. So it's both.
Q
Judy, is it fair to assume that the President and
Mrs. Bush choose to keep only a fraction of the gifts they receive?
MS. SMITH: That's absolutely correct.
Q
Like is it two percent or 10 percent or --
MS. SMITH: I don't have a figure on that. What's
basically required for them to report over $100, but I don't have a
figure on the amount that they decide not to report.
Q
How many people are involved in the gift unit?
What does that comprise and who runs it?
MS. SMITH: Frank, I don't have that information on the
number of employees of the gift unit and who runs it. I can
certainly try.
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- 7 -
Q
Is that Judith Lieber bag one bag, one handbag?
MS. SMITH: Well, let's see what it says. What page are
you referring to, Helen? It's one handbag.
Q
Do you know the story behind the briefcase from Dan
Aykroyd?
MS. SMITH: No. I'll ask.
Q
Are they friends?
MS. SMITH: Well, I mean, the gifts that he decided to
keep were from friends and associates and gifts that he wanted to
keep. But I'll see if I can find out the briefcase.
I
I don't think Dan Aykroyd has ever been to the
White House, has he?
MS. SMITH: Well, I don't know. But that certainly
doesn't mean they're not friends or associates.
I
Just out of curiosity, on page 10, Mr. and Mrs.
Saleh, they gave 10 watches -- what's the story?
Q
Gave her 10 watches.
MS. SMITH: That's for Mrs. Bush. That "s" is spouse.
Q
Do you know anything about that?
MS. SMITH: No, I don't know about the 10 watches.
Q
I'm overwhelmed with curiosity about this Santa
Clause. What is a Texas Santa Clause?
MS. SMITH: What page are you on -- 10? It could be
some special brand of Santa Clause that they only have in Texas.
I'll see. I'll see if I can find a -- it could be. It could be.
(Laughter.)
Q
In the past you've made available also financial
disclosures from other senior staff -- maybe this time, such as
Skinner and Sununu. Are those available?
MS. SMITH: No, as a matter of fact, let me just point
out that the financial disclosure forms are not due until tomorrow.
One of the reasons why we're doing it today is because everybody is
going to be on the road. The President's financial disclosure form
will be filed tomorrow with the Office of Government Ethics. From
what I understand, the law says that we can make available to the
public 30 days after receipt of the agencies in terms of financial
disclosure forms.
Q
You don't have Sununu's and you don't have
Skinner's yet?
MS. SMITH: No, they're not due until tomorrow.
Q
Are we getting them tomorrow, or where are you guys
going to release them?
MS. SMITH: Well, I will check to see what the procedure
will be, but let me just say that the 30-day period certainly allows
Counsel's Office to review. And by law you're not required to
release them until 30 days after that period. But I will check to
see when we plan to release them, if there's any interest.
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- 8 -
Q
No one has them?
MS. SMITH: No, they're not due until tomorrow. That's
right. But in the past we've made senior staff financial disclosures
available, and I'm sure we will do that this year also.
Q
The Vice President's?
MS. SMITH: From my understanding, the Vice President
will be releasing his financial disclosure from this afternoon.
Q
From Tokyo?
MS. SMITH: No.
Q
I just don't remember. Last year did he give the
same precise figure on -- as this is?
MS. SMITH: He did. He did. He's been rounding -- you
were talking about rounding out to -- yes, he did. He's been doing
that consistently.
Q Do you call on other presidential candidates to
give as exact an accounting?
MS. SMITH: We certainly like to lead by example. And
we would encourage, just like we encourage all candidates to make all
available their income taxes, we certainly would encourage full
disclosure and for all candidates to make full disclosure on their
financial disclosure form.
Q But to round it off as precisely?
MS. SMITH: Sure. I don't see why not. I mean, I think
it's good because what it does is it gives an exact, precise number
of holdings. And on the financial disclosure form, if you turn to
page two, you can see there that you don't really get an idea of
someone's holdings, which is why we rounded it out to the nearest
thousand and the nearest hundred.
Q Judy, is there some provision in the gift
regulations whereby the President or the recipient of a gift who's an
officer of the government can buy it from the government if he gets a
gift? I seem to recall somewhere down the line there was a purchase
agreement or a purchase provision, which you haven't mentioned yet
today.
MS. SMITH: It doesn't come up with the President. But
just, for example, when we go on trips, if you receive gifts, I
believe that the commercial appraiser and also the gift unit will
determine a value. And if you want to purchase it you can. I just
don't know all those ins and outs in terms of the procedures.
Q
That does not apply to the President?
MS. SMITH: No.
Q Who does that apply to?
MS. SMITH: :: will check on that, though. But I just
remember it just coming up in the context of staff members. But I
will check for you, though.
Q At what level, the Cabinet and everybody?
MS. SMITH: No, I mean, for example, when we go on
trips, sometimes when we get gifts, you have to report them to the
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- 9 -
gift unit. And there's a form that they send to you, which lists
that they have to appraise, that they have to determine the amount.
And there's a paragraph there that relates to if you would like to
purchase it. I will just find out the rules and regulations for you.
Q
And who it applies, though. That's what I was
asking. Does it apply to all the senior staff, everybody but Bush?
MS. SMITH: It depends on who receives the gift. I
don't think the rule is applying to senior staff. I think the
regulations just apply to when you get this.
The other thing that -- does anybody before we move
on, does anybody have any more questions?
Q
When you purchase something like that, say, $400 or
$500, who gets the money?
MS. SMITH: I beg your pardon?
Q
Who gets the money when you have to purchase
something that you want?
MS. SMITH: I will check, but I would assume it would be
the person that gave the gift. If you cannot keep it, it certainly
would not go to the gift unit, but I'll check those rules and
regulations and try to make them available.
Q
One last thing. When he leaves office, does he get
to keep all these gifts with no strings?
MS. SMITH: I beg your pardon?
Q
He doesn't have to pay for any of this or --
MS. SMITH: That he keeps --
Q Yes, when he leaves.
MS. SMITH: No, he does not. They're gifts, and it's
over a certain amount and reported here on a financial disclosure
form.
Let me just reiterate that the process is easy in terms
of getting the financial disclosure forms. I think, Paul, you had
asked about that. We'll have them for you, and you can just make a
sign-up sheet down here in the lower press office. I think we did
that process last year. And so anybody who wants a copy of it, we'll
be happy to provide it to you.
Q We can't get them until tomorrow at the earliest?
MS. SMITH: I will check. I think there's no 30-day
hold on staff members. But as a general matter, that applies in
terms of -- I know some of you have come to me earlier asking
questions about other agencies. That's the general rule, but I think
in senior staff members, that 30-day rule probably would not apply.
So we'll try to make those available to you as soon as we can.
&
Judy, his assets, his blind trust assets, went up
about four percent last year. The stock market rose 30 percent. Has
he asked anybody what his assets are placed in?
MS. SMITH: Well, no, you can't because -- no you can't
because it's a blind trust, so you can't do that.
Q
The question hasn't arisen that maybe they should
be investing more aggressively?
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- 10 -
MS. SMITH: No. I mean the purpose of creating a blind
trust, obviously, is to protect from any conflict or any appearance
of conflict. And so he has not inquired as to where his investments
are made.
Q
Are there any rules governing the acceptance of
gifts from corporations. I noticed some corporations --
MS. SMITH: No, they're all the same. Just what -- you
just have to report the gifts that's over $100.
Q
I'm confused again. If there's no limit on what
you can accept, is it different between the President and the staff I
mean why would they pay for the gift it they could --
MS. SMITH: No, two points -- one, the requirement is
that you have to report gifts you decide to keep that's over $100.
In terms of whether you want to purchase a gift for a staff member, I
will check the gift unit to determine what rules and regulations
apply.
Q
Isn't there something -- are you sure that there
isn't some limit on what even the President can accept in regards to
gifts from heads of state?
MS. SMITH: The reporting requirements is over $100.
Q
Any fabulous treasure that they give he can keep?
MS. SMITH: Well, generally, things that you are talking
about in that nature have historically been designated to the
President's library or Archives, so I don't think that issue arises.
Q
That is an issue. Can they keep it personally
because there has been jewelry given to first ladies in the past that
have been very controversial.
MS. SMITH: Right. I will check to see if there is a
limit but I don't think there is a limit. I think the rule is that
you just have to report over $100. But I'll be sure to check.
Q
The law requires that filers report reimbursement
travel expenses above $250. And since there's been so much
controversy over who has and who hasn't reimbursed the President's
travel expenses for political purposes, why is he not reporting that
as is required?
MS. SMITH: You don't have to report that on your
financial disclosure form. That's not required to report --
Q
It says you do.
MS. SMITH: What are you referring to, Frank?
Q
Page six. It seems to say it, but you're the
lawyer.
MS. SMITH: It does. And I went over this form with the
President's attorney and --
Q
-- to be filed, cash reimbursements at $250 or more
from one source; exclude those from the U.S. government. It
specifically says travel reimbursement.
Q
He doesn't pay for anything.
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- 11 -
I
Government expenses from the government. It
doesn't say exclude travel expenses from the Nevada Republican Party
or the California --
MS. SMITH: Frank, this has been gone over by the
attorneys. I'm just saying that there is no requirement to report
that, which is why on page six there you see basically none and none.
The only thing that we're required to report, which I went over with
you, which is on page seven through 12.
Q
Is it possible that he is not being reimbursed,
that the government is or there's some other legalism there?
MS. SMITH: I can check for you, but the point that I'm
trying to make is that it is not a requirement to report it. If
there were, we would certainly report it. And as demonstrated, the
President has gone beyond the reporting requirements.
Q
Is it Bessemer who does his blind trust? And did
he change that last year? Did it change from '89 to '90 as I
remember?
MS. SMITH: It did. And I'll double-check his tax
forms. We have the transcript. But it did change. But I don't have
the information regarding the blind trust because we wouldn't have
that. But he does handle that.
Q
But it's the change that I'm interested in coupled
with the apparent decrease in --
MS. SMITH: Right, I understand.
Q
For the sake of comparison, would you or could you
release a list of the gifts the President gives to foreign
dignitaries and others for the year?
MS. SMITH: For the what, I'm sorry?
Q
You know, the gifts the President gives other
foreign dignitaries and such for the year -- for the sake of
comparison.
MS. SMITH: In terms of comparison, what we'll make
available is his 1991 financial disclosure form in terms of gifts
that he's received. But that list, as far as I can recall, is not
made available.
Q
Once again, I'm sorry, on this blind trust, he is
aware of the value of it. He is aware of --
MS. SMITH: Well, yes.
Q
-- the change, the yearly change.
MS. SMITH: That's right.
Q
He is theoretically not aware of the precise
investments.
MS. SMITH: That's correct.
Q
So consequently, it's fair game to ask, or at least
ask you to ask, that he is not concerned with the rather paltry rate
of return on well in excess of $1 million.
MS. SMITH: Certainly, Wendell, in terms of investments,
everybody would like to get as much money as you can from your
investments. He has not inquired into what types of investments have
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- 12 -
been made. I think it's safe to say that he believes he has good
counsel in that area and he's not made any changes.
Q
Well, to continue with that, he did make a change
between '89 and '90.
MS. SMITH: Right, and I said I will double-check that
with you. And he has someone taking care of that.
Q
So I think that it would be fair game to ask if he
makes a change this year that we be informed.
MS. SMITH: Well, you'll see it. You'll see it on his
financial disclosure form and his --
Q In '93.
MS. SMITH: -- and his tax information. All those
figures that you see here -- the qualified blind trust, the ordinary
tax-exempt -- all that was listed on his tax form that we went over
in April.
Q
Is the administration coming out with a decision on
the spotted owl today?
Q
Thank you.
MS. SMITH: All right, we're moving on. Ann, I would
have to refer you to the Interior Department. But let me just say
that -- and they would be taking the lead on anything in that
particular area -- that our policy has been to protect the
environment and also try to protect jobs for Americans. But beyond
that, I would have to refer you to Interior Department.
Q
She asked you a question. Is there a decision
coming out today?
MS. SMITH: The decision is not coming out of the White
House, which is why I referred you to the Interior Department.
Q
Does the President have the authority to overrule
whatever decision comes out, or would he abide by whatever decision
this group makes?
MS. SMITH: From what I understand, which is why I'm
referring you to the Interior Department, there is a provision that
allows for an agency head to basically come up with a counter plan.
I would suggest that you wait and see what the Interior Department
comes out with today.
Q
This counter plan that -- I mean, Lujan is
supposedly presenting two plans today --
MS. SMITH: Right.
Q
-- one that complies with the law and one that
suggests a way around it, sort of splitting the difference. Was that
run by the President? I mean, how high up did Lujan go with this?
Is this essentially an administration decision, or is this strictly
from Interior?
MS. SMITH: I'm not going to get into any discussions.
I will say, that the Interior has taken the lead on this and we
certainly support actions taken by our Cabinet members.
Q
Well, this is a pretty political decision in that
part of the country. How much responsibility is the President
willing to take for it?
MORE
PAGE
1
FOCUS - 1 OF 12 STORIES
Copyright 1992 The Seattle Times Company
The Seattle Times
May 22, 1992, Friday, Final Edition
SECTION: TEMPO; FACTS THAT MIGHT UPSET YOU; Pg. 3
LENGTH: 246 words
HEADLINE: FACTS THAT MIGHT UPSET YOU
BYLINE: TIMES STAFF: TIMES NEWS SERVICES
BODY:
IT'S A GIFT?
The Bushes may have America's most exclusive gift list. The First Couple
reveals in an annual financial disclosure form the many presents they kept from
among the thousands sent by foreign dignitaries, Hollywood celebrities, sports
stars and plain folks. Among them:
-- "Hair products" from Dan Rostenkowski, the House Ways and Means chairman.
-- A briefcase from actor Dan Aykroyd.
-- Ten watches from Mr. and Mrs. M.A. Saleh of Woodbridge, Conn.
-- A walking stick from ex-Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren E. Burger.
-- Three Plaza Hotel bathrobes and two sweat shirts from Ivana Trump.
NO NUKE JOKES
Those sourpusses at the Federal Communications Commission passed the word a few
days ago that they'll have the last laugh next time some deejay thinks it's
funny to broadcast a phony nuclear attack or fake a murder - to the tune of a $
25,000 fine. Who would broadcast an outrageous thing like that? Wel, KSHE in St.
Louis aired a fake nuclear attack during the Gulf War. The FCC fined 'em $
25,000 under another law but, until now, could only send harrumphing letters to
these others:
-- WCCC in Avon, Conn., broadcast a phony report of a nearby volcanic
eruption.
-- WALE in Providence, R.I., pretended a popular talk show host had been
shot.
-- KSLX in Phoenix broadcast that the station was being held hostage. It
wasn't, but police didn't know that and rushed to the scene.
- From staff, wire reports
GRAPHIC: PHOTO IVANA TRUMP
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
PAGE
2
FOCUS - 3 OF 12 STORIES
Copyright 1992 The San Diego Union-Tribune
The San Diego Union-Tribune
May 15, 1992
SECTION: NEWS; A-23
LENGTH: 534 words
HEADLINE: Bushes' net worth totals $4.8 million
SOURCE: Copley News Service
BYLINE: BENJAMIN SHORE
KEYWORD: COST; FINANCE; GOVERNMENT; INFORMATION; LEADERS; SALARIES; USA;
BODY:
President Bush received three bathrobes and two sweatshirts worth $290 from
Ivana Trump. Barbara Bush got 10 wristwatches worth $465 from a Connecticut
couple. And folks in Selma, Texas, sent the Bushes a "Texas Santa Claus" doll
worth $120.
Those and other gifts accepted by Mr. and Mrs. Bush last year appeared on
the President's federally required annual personal financial disclosure report
released yesterday.
The report lists gifts worth a total of $21,329 from 75 donors. Their
retail value was appraised by a White House " gifts unit" with some help from
local merchants.
Counting the $200,000 a year Mr. Bush is paid to be president, the Bushes'
net worth in 1991 totaled $4.8 million.
This included their house in Kennebunkport, Maine -- $2,196,000; a blind
trust of anonymous investments -- $1,298,000; royalty income from "Millie's
Book" by their dog -- $889,200; a building lot in Houston -- $79,000; plus an
Individual Retirement Account (IRA), cash on hand, and the value of the gifts.
Except for the gifts, the assets also were reported on the President's
income tax return released last month.
The Bushes don't keep all the gifts they receive, said White House Deputy
Press Secretary Judy Smith. Some are returned as inappropriate, and others,
especially lavish ones given by heads of foreign governments, are earmarked for
the future Bush presidential library or the National Archives.
Any gift worth more than $100 in retail value must be reported on the
annual disclosure form if the Bushes keep it, Smith said.
There is no prohibition on accepting gifts from corporations, although they
are barred from making campaign contributions. The only item listed as a
corporate gift on the 1991 report was $720 worth of fishing rods and reels
from 1 the Zebco Corp. of Tulsa, Okla.
PAGE
3
The San Diego Union-Tribune, May 15, 1992
FOCUS
Smith called on "other presidential candidates" to also reveal details of
their holdings. "And we certainly like to lead by example," Smith said,
referring to Mr. Bush's listing his holdings to the nearest $1,000 instead of
taking advantage of the fact that the disclosure law requires large dollar
ranges only.
Golf equipment, including a $1,132 set of clubs from Arnold Palmer, was the
most common gift, followed closely by fishing rods and reels, sports clothing
and athletic shoes.
The most expensive gift was a $1,245 handbag for Mrs. Bush from New York
designer Judith Leiber.
TYPE: LIST. STATISTICS.
PAGE
4
FOCUS - 4 OF 12 STORIES
The Associated Press
The materials in the AP file were compiled by The Associated Press. These
materials may not be republished without the express written consent of The
Associated Press.
May 15, 1992, Friday, PM cycle
SECTION: Washington Dateline
LENGTH: 545 words
HEADLINE: Bushs' Gifts Last Year Included Fishing Equipment, Ivana Trump Robes
BYLINE: By RITA BEAMISH, Associated Press Writer
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
KEYWORD: Bush-Finances
BODY:
Could it be that President Bush has never met a fishing rod he didn't want?
He has an ample collection, judging by the fishing gifts he receives each
year and chooses to keep.
Last year's take was 19 rods and 10 reels, along with fishing accoutrements
such as a tackle box, according to Bush's annual financial disclosure report
released by the White House on Thursday.
Bush also got at least nine golf clubs, a golf bag, golf balls and other golf
accessories.
The president took in a similar bounty of golf and fishing gear last year.
"The president plays golf and is certainly an avid fisher and he decided to
keep those gifts, " White House spokeswoman Judy Smith told reporters.
Any gifts the president decides to keep that are valued at more than $ 100
must be reported on the annual statement that also is filed by other top
government officials.
Among last year's were three bathrobes and two sweat shirts valued at $ 290
from Ivana Trump. Trump's spokeswoman, Lisa Calandra, said Trump was Plaza Hotel
president last year when Bush visited New York and she sent the gifts to his
room, as is customary with heads of state. The robes were white terry cloth with
a Plaza logo on them, she said.
The Bushes kept $ 21,329 worth of gifts from 75 individuals last year, the
report shows.
Among them:
-A $ 265 briefcase from actor Dan Aykroyd.
PAGE
5
The Associated Press, May 15, 1992
FOCUS
-Eight neckties worth $ 558 and two scarves worth $ 268 from band leader
Lionel Hampton.
-A $ 1,245 handbag from designer Judith Leiber for Barbara Bush, the most
expensive gift the Bushes kept.
-A $ 225 belt buckle from aviator Chuck Yeager.
The gifts the president does not keep are given to the National Archives or
his presidential library. He also can send gifts he receives to others.
Bush's report also showed his blind trust, where he put this assets when he
became vice president in 1981, rose in value by $ 55,000 to $ 1.29 million.
In addition to the blind trust, Bush listed among his assets $ 74,000 in
three banks and the White House credit union.
He also owns a vacant lot in Houston worth $ 79,000, up from last year's $
55,000 valuation; and their Kennebunkport, Maine, home, valued at $ 2,196,000,
the same as the previous year.
Vice President Dan Quayle, meanwhile, reported assets valued at $ 993,017 to
$ 2.37 million, with one liability: a mortgage of up to $ 250,000. Quayle and
his wife, Marilyn, reported receiving $ 19,537 worth of gifts.
Most of Quayle's holdings were in his family's newspaper group, Central
Newspapers Inc. His wife earned between $ 15,001 and $ 50,000 on the suspense
novel she wrote with her sister.
The Quayles' assets include a portfolio of stocks Mrs. Quayle inherited last
year from an aunt, valued at between $ 12,012 and $ 180,000.
The stocks include many companies that have interest in the workings of the
White House Competitiveness Council, chaired by Quayle, which works to ease
regulatory burdens on business.
Among them are Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp., Amoco, Petroleum and
Resources Corp. and Eli Lilly and Co.
Among the gifts the Quayles kept were four pair of boots, a skirt, vest and
wallet, all worth $ 1,940, from boot maker Rocky Carroll of Houston. They also
got a framed photograph from Queen Elizabeth II worth $ 170.
U
PAGE 6
FOCUS - 8 OF 12 STORIES
Copyright 1992 The Houston Chronicle Publishing Company
The Houston Chronicle
May 15, 1992, Friday, 3 STAR Edition
SECTION: A; Pg. 5
LENGTH: 370 words
HEADLINE: Bushes list their worth at about $ 3.7 million
BYLINE: GREG McDONALD, Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau; Staff
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
BODY:
WASHINGTON President Bush's investments earned a modest 4
percent return last year, but the nation's chief executive is worth
about $ 3.7 million.
The president's annual financial disclosure report, released
Thursday by the White House, shows Bush and his wife Barbara earned
about $ 55,000 in 1991 on their investments through an 11-year-old
blind trust worth almost $ 1.3 million.
The trust, coupled with the $ 2.2 million value of the
president's family home in Kennebunkport, Maine, accounts for much
of the first couple's wealth.
With no liabilities to speak of, it appears that the Bushes
have little to worry about financially when the president leaves
his $ 200,000-a-year Oval Office job. In addition to his investment
income and a retirement salary of $ 143,800 a year, Bush also can
draw on an individual retirement account with a current value of
$ 34,000.
In addition to the IRA, Bush listed on his disclosure form
cash assets of $ 74,000 in various bank accounts in Texas,
Washington, and Kennebunkport.
He also reported a life insurance policy with a cash-in value
of $ 15,000.
The Bushes also listed as an asset a residential lot they own
in Houston's Tanglewood area, which was valued at $ 79,000.
The president's disclosure form, required of all high-level
federal officials, also detailed about $ 21,329 in gifts the Bushes
received last year from 75 friends and acquaihtances.
The presents included three bathrobes and two sweaters from
Ivana Trump valued at $ 290, a $ 225 belt buckle from pilot Chuck
Yeager, a $ 1,245 handbag from designer Judith Leiber, and more than
$ 6,700 worth of golf and fishing equipment.
PAGE
7
The Houston Chronicle, May 15, 1992
FOCUS
The first couple also was given a free membership in the
Arundel Beach Club of Kennebunkport by a Maine neighbor and
decorative ""Texas Santa Claus'' figurine that was dressed in red
suede cowboy boots, blue jeans and a Houston Oilers football helmet.
The gifts listed represented only a fraction of the presents
the Bushes received last year because they were only required to
report the gifts they keep that are worth $ 100 or more.
Most of the other gifts were turned over to the National
Archives for cataloging and storing.
GRAPHIC: Photo: Barbara and George Bush earned about $ 55,000 in 1991 on their
investments through a blind trust worth almost $ 1.3 million. The trust, coupled
with the $ 2.2 million value of the family home in Maine, accounts for much of
the first couple's wealth; Chronicle files
PAGE 8
FOCUS - 11 OF 12 STORIES
Copyright 1992 Gannett Company, Inc.
USA TODAY
May 15, 1992, Friday, FINAL EDITION
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 4A
LENGTH: 304 words
HEADLINE: Bush makes $ 3.6M financial statement
BYLINE: Jessica Lee
KEYWORD: FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE: BUSH FINANCES: DAN QUAYLE
BODY:
President Bush's personal assets in investments and real estate are valued
at about $ 3.6 million, his financial disclosure report shows.
Bush holds $ 1.3 million worth of investments in a blind trust established
when he became vice president. The value of those investments of which he is
unaware has climbed by 4% since last year, according to the records released
Thursday.
His main assets were:
- His oceanfront home in Kennebunkport, Maine, appraised at $ 2.2 million,
unchanged from last year - despite considerable damage wreaked by a storm last
fall.
- A vacant lot in Houston, the Bushes' legal voting residence, valued at $
79,000.
He also listed cash assets of $ 74,000 held in three banks and the White
House credit union.
Vice President Quayle listed assets up to $ 2.37 million and one liability: a
mortgage of up to $ 250,000.
As required by law, Bush also reported $ 21,329 worth of gifts he and first
lady Barbara Bush decided to keep for themselves last year. Among the gifts
from 75 people:
- A $ 1,245 handbag from designer Judith Leiber to Mrs. Bush, the most
expensive gift the Bushes kept.
- A $ 265 briefcase from actor Dan Aykroyd.
- Eight neckties and two scarves valued at $ 826 from bandleader Lionel
Hampton.
- Two sweatshirts and three bathrobes valued at $ 290 from Ivana Trump.
- Hair products and a golf putter worth $ 143 from Rep. Dan Rostenkowski,
D-Ill.
PAGE
9
USA TODAY, May 15, 1992
FOCUS
The Bushes also got scores of golf clubs, fishing rods, flashlights, dolls,
ecklaces, binoculars, Santa statues.
The Quayles kept:
- Four pairs of boots, a skirt, vest and wallet - worth a total of $ 1,940 -
rom bootmaker Rocky Carroll of Houston.
- A framed photograph from England's Queen Elizabeth II, worth $ 170.
- A model fire engine, valued at $ 195, from John McNichol of Washington.
UBJECT: GEORGE BUSH
OTES: WASHINGTON AND THE WORLD
PAGE
10
FOCUS - 12 OF 12 STORIES
Copyright 1992 News World Communications, Inc.
The Washington Times
May 15, 1992, Friday, Final Edition
Correction Appended
SECTION: Part A; NATION; Pg. A4
LENGTH: 428 words
HEADLINE: Bush far wealthier since inauguration
BYLINE: Frank J. Murray; THE WASHINGTON TIMES
BODY:
George Bush has increased his net worth by 79 percent to $3.7 million since
becoming president and has been given enough fishing rods and golf clubs to open
a sporting goods store when he retires.
"The president plays golf and is certainly an avid fisherman," Deputy Press
Secretary Judy Smith said when asked what he does with all the clubs, rods and
other sporting gifts, including a football helmet, pool cue, tennis rackets
and horseshoes.
Among the fascinating, tax-free gifts he has chosen to keep are three
bathrobes received under unexplained circumstances from Ivana Trump and a $265
briefcase from "Saturday Night Live" alumni Dan Aykroyd.
Barbara Bush received another of the famous designer evening bags from
Judith Leiber - a tiny but beautiful silver number worth $1,245. Since becoming
first lady she has reported gifts of six Leiber bags with a total value of
$5,802.
Mr. Bush also reeled in more of his favorite toys as well, 19 more fishing
rods and two full sets of golf clubs and a handful of specialized clubs. He now
has been given at least 37 rods and reels worth $8,573 and five full sets of
golf clubs valued at $6,079 plus 10 individual clubs including one worth $450.
The gifts from 75 donors last year had a total value of $21,329, according
to appraisals by the White House " gift unit," Miss Smith said. That was down
slightly from $22,138 in gifts from 84 persons the year before.
Mr. Bush's annual financial disclosure statement, to be filed today with
the Office of Government Ethics, shows in precise terms that go far beyond legal
requirements that his blind trust continues to earn money without losing value
despite the sale of assets.
After selling unspecified blind trust assets that produced a $49,700 capital
gains profit last year, the blind trust still was worth $1,298,000.
Comparisons with earlier disclosures show that is $55,000 more than the year
before and up 79 percent from the $998,000 the trust contained when he took
office.
PAGE 11
The Washington Times, May 15, 1992
FOCUS
Meanwhile, Mr. Bush has drawn almost $1 million from it, including $806,000
in taxable income, $14,200 in tax-exempt income and $85,700 in capital gains
from the sale of assets.
Although his property in Maine has an estimated market value of $3 million,
it is listed on his disclosure at the $2,196,000 for which it is assessed for
local taxes. That assessment increased from $892,000 after he became president.
A vacant lot the Bushes own in Houston is valued for tax purposes at $79,000.
CORRECTION-DATE: May 17, 1992, Sunday, Final Edition
CORRECTION:
The growth of President Bush's blind trust since 1988 was incorrectly
reported in Friday's editions. The percentage gain was 30 percent, and his net
worth increased 79 percent.
GRAPHIC: Chart, BUSH NET WORTH: $3.7 MILLION, By The Washington Times