It seems that Gibson was guilty of two things:
Click through to this article. The "East Indian Rosewood" is also used by C.F. Martin & Company to make instruments. However, Mr. Martin is a big Democrat contributor. Strangely, his business was not raided/searched this week for using this wood.
What counts as finished, anyhow. Maybe Martin only has the pieces cut in India, then sends them elsewhere for expert assembly. Or Martin could be doing the exact same thing Gibson has been doing.
I had read that Gibson hadn’t been happy with the quality of the ‘finished’ parts from India, so they ordered them to be thicker than spec so that they could sand them down and fix them in the States. Gibson should have learned the lesson of Microsoft and Bill Gates during the Clinton years about political donations.
That's because simply using the wood isn't illegal. And likely because C. F. Martin had the correct paperwork and followed the rules to use the wood. Martin has a heck of a lot more experience using East Indian Rosewood on its guitars and dealing with the regulations and paperwork; Gibson makes the J-45, J-185 Rosewood and J-165 Rosewood in East Indian Rosewood (Martin makes 51 East Indian Rosewood models), the premier Gibson models (J-200, L-200, Dove, Hummingbird, Southern Jumbo) are made of mahogany or maple.
Martin also produces many more acoustic guitars each day than Gibson does (Gibson has a strong line of electric guitars, mandolins, banjos, and capital "D" Dobros - a trade name, and some acoustic guitars). Gibson makes 60 acoustic models, total; Martin makes twenty different body shapes and over 50 different models within the D14 body shape alone.
Gibson's CEO is known - and was known before he got into the guitar business - for being a pretty aggressive businessman.
Plus, it may be that Gibson's cutting compliance corners due to its financial situation after the flood in Nashville. Gibson lost everything at Opryland Mills. Not only production, but forms and molds. Mandolin and banjo production was shut down. There were talks of Huber talking over Gibson banjos - then talks of sale of the Gibson banjo line to a Chinese buyer.
No, there's a lot I think this administration is capable of, but sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
In this case, my guess is that Gibson simply cut corners.
The message from the administration is clear - 'donate to us or face the consequences'.