Gift list

Denise Rich: Coffee tables and chairs, $7,300 Ronald and Beth Dozoretz: Dining table, server and golf clubs, $7,000 Steven Spielberg: China, $4,920 Ted Danson and Mary Steenburger: China, $4,800 Jack Nicholson: Golf club, $350 Sylvester Stallone: Boxing gloves, $300

The National Park Service, which acts as a steward for the White House, said it would keep the furniture until the ownership question was resolved.

The White House curator's office is working with the Clintons to clear up any confusion about whether the items the couple took were personal gifts or items that were supposed to stay, White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said.

Two furniture makers whose donations the Clintons took with them have said their gifts were part of the $396,000 refurbishment of the executive mansion, and were not meant for the Clintons personally, the Washington Post reported.

But Bill Clinton's office issued a statement saying the furniture was removed from the executive mansion with the approval of the White House Usher's and Curator's Offices.

Clinton friends

The controversial gifts include two coffee tables and chairs worth $7,375 from Denise Rich, a top Democratic Party fundraiser.

The Clintons have a new $1.7m home in Chappaqua, New York

Mrs Rich spent last year lobbying for a presidential pardon for her former husband, who fled the country in 1983 under indictment for tax evasion and racketeering. Marc Rich received a pardon from the former president as he left office.

The gifts being repaid include furniture, televisions, clothing, china and works of art.

Also among the people to be repaid are movie mogul Steven Spielberg and actors Kate Capshaw, Ted Danson and Mary Steenburger.

Actor Jack Nicholson is also expected to receive payment for a golf driver worth $350.