WASHINGTON -- President Reagan's top advisers were very careful of the gifts they accepted last year, according to their financial disclosure reports.
Earlier in the administration, $1,000 misplaced in a safe and the gift of a couple of watches led to the resignation of Richard Allen as Reagan's adviser on national security measures.
Since then, presidential aides have trod carefully in the area of what sort of gifts they accept and from where they receive outside income. According to the financial disclosure forms released by the White House on Tuesday, the aides made money from blue chip stocks, investments and property, but kept the gifts to a minimum.
The statements for 1982, required by law, revealed no extraordinary gifts or open conflicts of interest.
Heading the list of the wealthiest men in the White House -- outside of the president -- were chief of staff James Baker, a Texan, and national security adviser William Clarke of California, Allen's successor. Both come from old and wealthy families and their complex returns covered extensive holdings.
Baker, before taking office, transferred all of his reportable assets, including the stock, ranching and property assets, into a blind trust. He did, however, report receiving a clock from the Federal City Club worth $125, a $104 crystal ashtray from the Embassy of Qatar and a $10,000 cash gift from the paternal grandparents of his stepchildren.
Clark's substantial holdings included his sprawling ranch at Shandon, Calif., a rental oil lease on his ranch, and a family cattle and grain partnership. He listed gifts from foreign leaders of a box of cigars valued at $122, a porcelain plate for $85, and a silk scarf, valued at $60.
Two White House officers -- Faith Whittlesey and Richard Darman - were surprises in the extent of their wealth listed.
Mrs. Whittlesey, the former U.S. ambassador to Switzerland who is now assistant to the president for public liaison, reported heavy holdings in blue chip stocks, which are being handled by a blind trust. Her eight-page statement also showed she gets $12,048 in Social Security benefits for being a widow with dependent children.
Darman, an important presidential assistant, listed more than $1 million in bank trusts in his extensive assets.
Presidential counsellor Edwin Meese, in addition to his financial holdings, listed receiving travel and lodging worth $2,450 -- including a trip to Bermuda -- for lecture appearances. He made speeches at the Bermuda Bar Associaton, Valparaiso University in Indiana, both of which furnished round trip air fare for Meese and his wife; and the Chautaqua Institution in New York, which provided three days of overnight lodging for his family.
Meese also received a $150 porcelain eagle as part of his USO Man of the Year Award and earned more than $250,000 on the sale of a dwelling at 10911 Sunray Place in La Mesa, Calif., in September. The exact figure was not given, and the $250,000 figure was the highest category amount available.
The most peculiar income report was that of deputy chief of staff Michael Deaver, who listed an $18,000 advance from his publisher, Bill Adler Books, Inc., for a diet book he is writing.
Each of the financial reports was examined by Fred Fielding, the White House counsel, who was barred by law from supervising his own report. Fielding's financial disclosure statement, and that of budget chief David Stockman, were to be filed elsewhere. Stockman, classified as an 'agency chief,' is not required to file under the regulations applied to the White House.
However, the most complex report filed came from Edwin Harper, Stockman's deputy director, who listed page after page of financial operations ranging from straight stocks to drilling funds and interest on daily cash accumulation funds.
James Jenkins, an assistant to Meese, received $10,800 in retirement income from the Navy and between $50,000 and $100,000 in a stock redemption agreement with a community and economic development consulting firm of which he was an officer.
Craig Fuller, a valuable a middleman for Reagan's dealings with the Cabinet, reported spending more than $15,000 in leasing an airplane, paid for with a loan from a California bank.
Kenneth Duberstein, Reagan's liason man with Capitol Hill, reported cash losses on eight pieces of rental property in which he held partail ownership.
Neither White House communications director David Gergen or deputy press secretary Larry Speakes reported any unusual outside income. Reagan's chief political adviser, Edward Rollins, reported no outside income beyond his salary.
Karna Small, deputy assistant to the president for media relations, reported $488 reimbursement for airfare and expenses in delivering a speech to a sorority in Evanston, Ill.
