Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice received a diamond ring and other gifts worth more than $212,000 last year from Libya's Moammar Gadhafi.
A newly released State Department report discloses that Gadhafi gave Rice, who visited the Libyan capital last year, the ring along with a DVD and a locket with the Libyan strongman's picture inside, in September.
The donor is described as the "Leader of the Revolution of the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya," according to the report obtained by the Huffington Post. Total value of the gifts: $212,225.
Among dozens of other gifts, Rice received a necklace, ring, bracelet and earrings set, plus a robe and scarf, from the King of Saudi Arabia. Those were valued at $230,145.
President George W. Bush also received dozens of gifts from foreign government sources, including a taxidermied lion and leopard and a zebra skin from the president of Tanzania, biking shorts from the prime minister of Israel, a $4,000 silk rug from the president of Afghanistan, white wooden clogs from the prime minister of the Netherlands, and a box of chocolates from the king of Morocco.
First lady Laura Bush's many gifts last year included a white china tea set, tennis shoes, and a baseball cap from the president of South Korea.
Vice President Dick Cheney received $2,190 worth of caviar and a handmade silk carpet from the president of Azerbaijan.
For each of the gifts U.S. government officials received, the reason cited for accepting the gift was stated as: "Non-acceptance would cause embarrassment to donor and U.S. government."
By law, officials are required to turn over these gifts to the government.
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