Trump failed to claim a very large gift - imagine that

For the past 20 months, President Trump has received free personal legal services from one of America’s highest-paid lawyers, who has traveled around the country and across the ocean to defend him in the special counsel’s inquiry and press Ukraine to investigate a political rival and unfounded conspiracy theories.

The lawyer, of course, is Rudolph W. Giuliani, but Mr. Trump did not mention Mr. Giuliani or his unpaid labor on the annual financial disclosure he filed in May, which requires that the value and source of gifts — including free legal work — be publicly listed.

[...]

For his paying clients, Mr. Giuliani has been able to provide access to senior officials across the Trump administration.

Elizabeth Horton, a spokeswoman for the Office of Government Ethics, said she could not discuss whether Mr. Giuliani’s pro bono services should have been included in Mr. Trump’s financial disclosure. But in the past, when the agency has received complaints suggesting that information is missing, it has typically followed up with the office where the person works — in this case, the White House.

[...]

The economic value of [Giuliani's] services to the president could be considerable. Mr. Giuliani has said that at the height of the Mueller inquiry, representing Mr. Trump amounted to a full-time job. Partners at major law firms can bill their clients as much as $1,500 an hour. To serve as Mr. Trump’s lawyer, Mr. Giuliani left a firm where he was making $6 million a year.

  NYT

Now why would he do that? Could it be because oligarchs and money launderers pay even more?

Throughout the Trump presidency, Mr. Giuliani has enjoyed a robust business serving wealthy clients by providing advice and extraordinary access to the highest level of government.

On behalf of a Turkish money launderer, Mr. Giuliani brought his case directly to the president and secretary of state in the Oval Office; for a Venezuelan oil oligarch, he met with senior officials at the Justice Department in Washington. He escorted a former penny-stock trader seeking Ukrainian energy deals to the state funeral of former President George Bush.

[...]

The president’s annual financial disclosure is required under the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, adopted after the Watergate scandal to “promote the integrity of public officials and institutions.” The purpose is to let the public know about businesses or property that top government officials have a stake in, or other financial ties that could create a conflict of interest.

Unlike other federal employees, presidents and vice presidents are allowed to accept gifts with few limitations. They face one major requirement: They must list the value and source of any goods or services, currently above a threshold of $390, on their annual forms.

That makes no sense, as they're the ones with the most power to do big favors in return.

In 2017, Mr. Trump failed to disclose that he owed more than $100,000 to a previous personal lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, who had paid hush money on the president’s behalf to the pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels. After omitting it from his 2017 form, he listed it in a footnote the following year.

[...]

There remains one possible loophole that Mr. Giuliani and Mr. Trump could turn to as an explanation.

Under federal campaign finance law, if an individual lawyer provides legal advice to a candidate without compensation, “the work is considered personal volunteer activity,” the Federal Election Commission says.

But the law limits any unpaid travel expenses associated with the free legal services — meaning a trip to Europe by Mr. Giuliani as part of this work would turn into an illegal contribution to Mr. Trump, unless the expense was reimbursed by the campaign.

[...]

In late November, a liberal watchdog organization, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, asked the Justice Department and the Office of Government Ethics to investigate the nondisclosure, saying it “seemingly violates federal law and undermines the integrity of the public financial disclosure program.”

“We’re not saying that President Trump can’t accept the free legal work,” said Virginia Canter, a lawyer for the group, which frequently sues the Trump administration. “What he does have to do is disclose the value and nature of any pro bono services.”

No. He has Article II. He can do anything he wants.