
'Bribery in broad daylight': Experts stunned by Qatar plan to gift Trump $400 million 'flying palace'
President Donald Trump is slated to “accept a super luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet from the royal family of Qatar,” known as “a flying palace,” ABC News reports.
Attorney General Pam Bondi, along with White House counsel David Warrington, advised the Trump administration “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,” ABC News reports.
The report describes the arrangement as “unprecedented,” noting it raises “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.”
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Aviation industry experts told ABC the aircraft is estimated to value "about $400 million,” — not including the cost of retrofitting the craft with “the additional communications security equipment the Air Force will need to add to properly secure and outfit the plane in order to safely transport the commander in chief.”
Trump’s potential acceptance of what amounts to a $400 million gift from a foreign government stunned experts and journalists alike.
Democratic Pollster and Strategist Matt McDermott noted that just last week, “[the] Trump Organization announce[d] new $5.5 billion golf course in Qatar.”
“Surely just a coincidence,” McDermott wrote of Qatar’s latest gift to the president.
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McDermott described himself as “speechless” upon learning of the president’s new plane.
“A foreign regime gifting a jet to a former president,” McDermott posted on X. "It’s bribery in broad daylight.”
ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl called the plane “perhaps the biggest foreign gift ever.”
“[Department of Justice] insists it’s legal, not bribery, not violation of emoluments clause,” Karl added.
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CNN Senior National Security Analyst Juliette Kayyem warned “the surveillance and security aspects are also as disturbing as the grift.”
“Qatar will surely offer a plane that satisfies their needs as well,” she wrote.
CNN Medical Analyst Jonathan Reiner noted Air Force One is "a military aircraft" and is "not intended to be a palace because the U.S. doesn’t have a king.”
Read the full report at ABC News.
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