House Democrats with the Judiciary Committee have launched an investigation into President Donald Trump’s acceptance of a private jet from the Qatari government.
The Judiciary Democrats called the gift “unprecedented” and “unconstitutional” in their announcement of the investigation. Specifically, the group has requested that Attorney General Bondi and White House Counsel David Warrington provide documents justifying the legality of the gift.
“President Trump is reportedly relying on memos that you authored, at his request, to accept a $400 million airplane from the State of Qatar—described in media reports as a ‘flying palace’ and ‘the most luxurious private jet in the world’—without obtaining, or even seeking, Congress’s consent,” the letter says, adding that the Constitution provides Congress with the “enforcement of the Foreign Emoluments Clause, and it is necessary to the execution of our Article I duties to examine the purported legal justification for what appears to be a blatant violation of the Foreign Emoluments Clause.”
The letter notes that the plane appears to be a “bribe” to President Trump.
“The Constitution is clear: Congress—not the Attorney General or the White House Counsel—has the exclusive authority to approve or reject a gift ‘of any kind whatever’ given to the President by a foreign government,” the letter asserts. “We would also note that, even if the Attorney General had a constitutional role to play here, Attorney General Bondi has a significant and obvious conflict of interest given her prior registration as an official agent of the Qatari government and earned no less than $115,000 per month lobbying on its behalf.”
Trump wrote on Truth Social that the gift is not for personal use, but for the U.S. government.
“The Boeing 747 is being given to the United States Air Force/Department of Defense, NOT TO ME! It is a gift from a Nation, Qatar, that we have successfully defended for many years. It will be used by our Government as a temporary Air Force One, until such time as our new Boeings, which are very late on delivery, arrive,” he wrote. “Why should our military, and therefore our taxpayers, be forced to pay hundreds of millions of Dollars when they can get it for FREE from a country that wants to reward us for a job well done. This big savings will be spent, instead, to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Only a FOOL would not accept this gift on behalf of our Country. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
