ABC News has reported President Trump is about to accept a super luxury Boeing jumbo jet from the royal family of Qatar, and it is to be used as the new Air Force One and then be transferred to the Trump presidential library foundation when he leaves office.
This from therightscoop.com.
Here is the news:
In what may be the most valuable gift ever extended to the United States from a foreign government, the Trump administration is preparing to accept a super luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet from the royal family of Qatar—a gift that is to be available for use by President Donald Trump as the new Air Force One until shortly before he leaves office, at which time ownership of the plane will be transferred to the Trump presidential library foundation, sources familiar with the proposed arrangement told ABC News.
The gift is expected to be announced next week, when Trump visits Qatar on the first foreign trip of his second term, according to sources familiar with the plans.
Trump toured the plane, which is so opulently configured it is known as ‘a flying palace,’ while it was parked at the West Palm Beach International Airport in February.
The highly unusual—unprecedented—arrangement is sure to raise questions about whether it is legal for the Trump administration, and ultimately, the Trump presidential library foundation, to accept such a valuable gift from a foreign power.
Anticipating those questions, sources told ABC News that lawyers for the White House counsel’s office and the Department of Justice drafted an analysis for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth concluding [it] is legal for the Department of Defense to accept the aircraft as a gift and later turn it over to the Trump library, and that it does not violate laws against bribery or the Constitution’s prohibition (the emoluments clause) of any U.S. government official accepting gifts ‘from any King, Prince or foreign State.’
Sources told ABC News that Attorney General Pam Bondi and Trump’s top White House lawyer David Warrington concluded it would be ‘legally permissible’ for the donation of the aircraft to be conditioned on transferring its ownership to Trump’s presidential library before the end of his term, according to sources familiar with their determination.
The sources said Bondi provided a legal memorandum addressed to the White House counsel’s office last week after Warrington asked her for advice on the legality of the Pentagon accepting such a donation.
The White House and DOJ didn’t immediately respond to request for comment. A spokesperson for the Qatari embassy did not respond to ABC’s inquiries.
Obviously our best minds would go through the aircraft with a fine tooth comb looking for any kind of surveillance devices, so the gift itself does not seem to be a risk But what does raise concern is that Qatar is the home of the Muslim Brotherhood, which proudly supports and protects Hamas leadership. Why would the United States be accepting any kind of gift from them in the first place? This does not seem to be a very good idea at face value—such lavish gifts come with serious expectations.
