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Hillary Clinton blasts article on White House gifts

Hillary Clinton
Clinton: "It is really regrettable that the people writing and publishing the story didn't call to get the facts, because there would have been no story."  

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York, lashed out Sunday against a newspaper column that claimed thousands of dollars of undisclosed gifts were given to her and her daughter, Chelsea, while they lived in the White House.

The piece, written by former Clinton adviser Dick Morris, was printed in Sunday's edition of the New York Post. It lists at least 10 gifts Morris claims are known to have been given to Clinton but have not been disclosed, as required by law.

"The story is false," the former first lady told reporters, saying the author had not bothered to check with her office before publishing the story.

"It's really regrettable that the people writing and publishing the story didn't call to get the facts," Clinton said, "because there would have been no story. I guess that's why they didn't call, and it is a very unfortunate commentary on the way that these things are handled."

Morris, a columnist for the Post, has become one of the Clintons' sharpest critics despite his former administration position. The Post is known as a conservative daily and endorsed Rep. Rick Lazio in the Senate race he lost to the former first lady.

When asked whether she disclosed all the gifts she received while in the White House, Clinton replied, "No."

"See, there is a very specific system. You don't keep something, you don't disclose it," she said. "It goes to the National Archives, and if it is below a certain value, you don't disclose it. And it would really be helpful if the press would learn the facts about the system and understand that this is what has been applicable to all presidents and we followed the same procedures that all presidents have followed."

Clinton made her comments while visiting three African-American churches in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Crown Heights, which overwhelmingly supported her in last year's Senate campaign.

Morris said the former first lady disclosed "virtually no personal gifts" on the yearly disclosure forms.

"Judith Lieber, designer of expensive and easily recognizable evening bags, has said publicly that Hillary had three or four of her creations," Morris wrote. "The White House said Mrs. Clinton would disclose the bags. But they do not appear on any of the disclosure forms in the public record."

The total value of the Lieber gifts, Morris said, is more than $10,000.

A Clinton spokesman responded that all gifts were handled properly. One of the Lieber bags, he said, was received before the Clintons were in the White House and another was listed on a 1994 financial disclosure form.

Morris discussed five formal dresses given to Clinton by the King of Morocco, one of which she wore during the royal visit. He said none of the dresses is listed on the forms.

But the Clinton spokesman said Clinton, in fact, sent the dress she wore to the National Archives and returned the rest to the Moroccan Embassy.

Morris also mentioned an eagle pin given to Clinton by the wife of a former Kentucky governor and a $500 gold bracelet given to Chelsea on her visit to India, neither of which was disclosed.

"The choice is simple," wrote Morris. "Either you believe that Hillary did not receive any personal gifts or you believe that she did but isn't telling."

The Clintons have come under fire for taking with them $190,000 in gifts and furnishings when they left the White House last month. A Clinton spokesman has said the White House curator approved all the items the couple took, but the Clintons have since agreed to pay for more than half of them.

"I can only say that all the gifts were appropriately dealt with, and if you have specific questions about any of them, my staff can give you all the details," the senator said.



RELATED STORIES:
Tripp: I was told not to record White House gifts
February 10, 2001
Clintons to return $28,000 in White House furnishings
February 7, 2001

RELATED SITE:
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton

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