"The Clinton Thefts"
(my title for this)
.
Below is part of the article and accompanying list, taken directly from page A3 of the Washington DC newspaper, The Washington Post, as it appeared on Monday, February 5, 2001.
Gifts Were Not Meant for Clintons, Some Donors Say
Article by George Lardner, Jr. Washington Post Staff Writer
Among the gifts that former president Bill Clinton says he is keeping as personal presents he accepted last year are $28,000 worth of furnishings that documents and interviews indicate were given to the National Park Service in 1993 as part of the permanent White House collection.
The Park Service serves as a steward for the White House and, according to the White House curator's office, is the only unit with the legal authority to accept gifts for the White House. A gift meant for the current White House occupants, by contrast, is routed through the White House gifts office, a separate unit.
Two of the furniture makers whose donations Clinton took with him on leaving the White House last month say they gave them to the White House as part of a widely publicized $396,000 redecoration of the executive mansion and not to Clinton personally.
"When we've been asked to donate, it was always hyphenated with the words, " 'White House,' " New York manufacturer Steve Mittman said of his family-owned business, which gave two sofas, an easy chair and an ottoman, worth $19,900 and listed by Clinton as part of the gifts he took with him. "To us, it was not a donation to a particular person."
...Like Mittman, Joy Ficks, whose late husband headed the Ficks Reed Co., said she thought the custom-finished rattan chairs and breakfast table installed in the private quarters would remain there as government property. She was puzzled when she learned the Clintons had taken the set with them.
"We gave it to the White House," she said. "I wondered what happened to it."
...Thank-you notes to the Fickses suggest the gifts were understood to be for the White House. In a June 28, 1993, note "on behalf of the President and Mrs. Clinton," White House usher Gary J. Walters said he wanted to express "my deep appreciation for the donation of a table and a breakfast set to the Executive Residence at the White House."
In an Aug. 10, 1993, letter signed "Hillary," the then-first lady expressed appreciation "for your generous contribution to the White House."
"That sounds like an acceptance of the United States," Cohen said. "That's what I would have understood if I were the recipient of that letter."
* $19,900 two sofas, an easy chair and an ottoman from Steve Mittman, New York.
* $3,650 kitchen table and four chairs from Lee Ficks, Cincinnati.
* $2,843 sofa from Brad Noe, High Point, N.C.
* $1,170 lamps from Stuart Schiller, Hialeah, Fla.
* $1,000 needlepoint rug from David Marinous, Little Rock.
Following are gifts the Clintons received in 2000 and are paying for:
* $9,433 china cabinet, chandelier and a copy of President Lincoln's Cooper Union speech from Walter and Selma Kaye, NY.
* $7,375 two coffee tables and two chairs from Denise Rich, NY.
* $7,000 dining room table, server and golf club from Mr & Mrs Ron Dozeretz, Washington.
* $6,282 two carpets from Glen Eden Carpets, Calhoun, GA.
* $5,000 rug from Martin Patrick Evans, Chicago.
* $5,000 china from Mr & Mrs Bill Brandt, Winnetka, Ill.
* $4,994 flatware from Ghada Irani, Los Angeles.
* $4,992 china from Iris Cantor, NY.
* $4,967 flatware, Edith Wasserman, Beverly Hills, Calif.
* $4,967 flatware, Mr & Mrs Morris Pynoos, Beverly Hills, CA.
* $4,787 china from Mary Steenburgen and Ted Danson, Los Angeles.
* $4,920 china from Mr & Mrs Steven Spielberg, Universal City, Calif.
* $3,000 painting from Joan Tumpson, Miami.
* $2,993 televisions and DVD player from Paul Goldenberg, La Habra, Calif.
* $2,400 dining room chairs from Arthur Athis, Los Angeles.
* $2,110 china and jacket from Jill and Ken Iscol, Pound Ridge, NY
* $1,588 flatware from Myra Greenspun, Green Valley, Nev.
* $595 pantsuit and sweater, Margaret O'Leary, San Francisco
* $524 golf driver and golf balls from Richard Helmstetter, Carlsbad, Calif.
* $500 antique book on George Washington, Mr & Mrs Bud Yorkin, Los Angeles.
* $499 golf driver from Ely Callaway, Carlsbad, Calif.
* $450 leather jacket from Vin Gupta, Omaha.
* $350 golf driver, Jack Nicholson, Beverly Hills, Calif.
* $350 framed tapestry, Mr & Mrs Vo Viet Thanh, Vietnam.
* $340 two sweaters from Robin Carnahan and Nina Canci, St. Louis.
* $300 flatware from Colette D'Etremont, New Brunswick, Canada.
* $300 painting of Buddy, Brian B. Ready, Chappaqua NY.
