Clintons' Gift Take Raises Ethics Questions
WASHINGTON, Jan. 25, 2001 -- -- When the Clintons left the White House last week, they hauled away a small fortune in gifts — and set off a new ethics controversy.
Financial disclosure reports show President Clinton and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton accepted $190,027 in gifts last year — more than any previous first couple.
Like newlyweds, the outgoing president and the just-elected junior senator from New York were feted and lavished with gifts by the same friends and backers who had filled the coffers of their political campaigns.
Wish List
In the final days of their administration, Clinton supporters even took the extraordinary step of setting up an account akin to a gift registry with Borsheim's, a high-end jewelery and china dealership owned by billionaire financier Warren Buffett.
Mrs. Clinton discovered Borsheim's last spring while visiting Omaha, where Buffett hosted a fundraiser that brought in about $100,000 for her Senate campaign. The Omaha World-Herald reported at the time that she spent two hours in the store with Buffett, and left with three shopping bags.
Nine months later, ABCNEWS has learned, Clinton's Beverly Hills friend Rita Pynoos asked other supporters to give generously to help the first family launch their new life. A source close to one of those solicited confirmed Pynoos had suggested a $5,000 contribution.
But rather than send a check to the White House, the Clinton backer was asked to send a check to Borsheim's. The donor also was asked to rush the payment in before Jan. 3, when Senate ethics rules would bar Sen. Clinton from receiving such gifts. Other supporters confirm they too were asked to contact Borsheim's.
It's impossible to tell how many of the gifts listed on the Clinton's final disclosure forms were given in those final days, or which were purchased from Borsheim's. But the Clintons listed $50,000 worth of furniture, $10,000 in flatware and $22,000 in china.
Pynoos herself gave nearly $6,000 worth of flatware and cashmere.
