Source: Anna Moneymaker / Getty / Donald Trump
Look up, and you will see the corruption in the air in the form of a $400 million luxury jumbo jet occupied by the orange menace, Donald Trump.
CNN reports that the Trump administration will accept a luxury jet from the Qatari royal family that will be retrofitted to be used as Air Force One during Felon 47’s disastrous second term.
ABC News first reported the gift, which came on the heels of Trump’s first big foreign trip, which included a stop in Doha, Qatar.
How is this possible? According to the news website, the administration, best known for its grifting, will get some help from the Qatari Ministry of Defense because it will be gifted to the Pentagon.
Per CNN:
Given the massive value of a Boeing 747-8, the move is unprecedented and raises substantial ethical and legal questions. A Qatari official said the plane is technically being gifted from the Qatari Ministry of Defense to the Pentagon, describing it more as a government-to-government transaction instead of a personal one. The Defense Department will then retrofit the plane for the president’s use with security features and modifications.
Oh, and get this: The plane will be “donated” to Trump’s presidential library so he can continue to use it after he leaves office—that’s if he leaves, we should say.
A law enforcement source close to the matter told CNN that the Secret Service is viewing the plane’s gifting as a “security nightmare.”
“The (US Air Force) would have to tear it apart looking for surveillance equipment and inspect the integrity of the plane,” the source told CNN.
Trump also has the right people in certain positions who will not blink an eye at the gift and will help ensure it goes through without issues.
Per ABC News:
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.
Bondi’s legal analysis also says it does not run afoul of the Constitution’s prohibition on foreign gifts because the plane is not being given to an individual, but rather to the United States Air Force and, eventually, to the presidential library foundation, the sources said.
Democrats & One of Trump’s Biggest Fans Slam The $400 Million Gift
As expected, Democrats and ethics experts are sounding the alarm at the apparent violation of the emoluments clause.
“Nothing says ‘America First’ like Air Force One, brought to you by Qatar,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement. “It’s not just bribery, it’s premium foreign influence with extra legroom.”
Kathleen Clark, a government ethics expert at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, pointed out the obvious, saying the Trump administration is “structuring a transaction to try to avoid the obvious application of the law,” because Congress did not consent to the gift because it’s a clear violation of the clause.
“It is ridiculous. It’s a gift to Trump. The federal government is a pass-through,” said Clark.
Even some of Trump’s biggest fans like Laura Loomer are not feeling the their orange lord and savior taking a gift from the Qatari royal family.
Welp.
You can see more reactions to the $400 million gift in the gallery below.
