WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th August, 2021) The US State Department said that it is conducting an inquiry into the disappearance of a whiskey bottle worth $5,800 that the former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo received as a gift from the government of Japan in 2019.
As it appears from the list of gifts received by the US Federal employees from the foreign sources in 2019, the bottle of whiskey was gifted to Pompeo on June 24 and its current location is unknown, the State Department said on Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, the New York Times reported that Pompeo said he had no recollection of receiving the bottle of whiskey and did not know what happened to it as well as that there was an inquiry into its whereabouts. The report said it was unclear whether Pompeo did actually receive the bottle as he was traveling in Saudi Arabia on June 24, 2019.
US officials can keep gifts that are worth less than $390 and must pay for the gifts that are above this amount. Moreover, the US Constitution does not permit accepting gifts from a foreign government under threat of penalty or impeachment.
