A former White House ethics adviser says gold gifted to Donald Trump during tariff negotiations gave “the appearance of a bribe.”

Richard Painter, 64, who served as George W. Bush’s chief ethics lawyer, told the Daily Beast he believes lawmakers should be asking questions about the lavish gifts. The gold Rolex desk clock and a one-kilogram gold bar were given to Trump by a Swiss business consortium a week before he issued a favorable tariff cut for the country and then displayed on his desk in the Oval Office. That should all trigger a congressional investigation, according to Painter.

“It just gives the appearance of a bribe,” Painter said, adding, “I’m not saying it is a bribe…[but] to avoid the appearance of bribery and corruption, presidents almost always refuse…gifts.”

Trump, 79,

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