Rep. Ritchie Torres is demanding a probe into reports that the Trump administration will accept a luxury jet, apparently a Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet, worth approximately $400 million from Qatar to serve as Air Force One, as well as Trump’s personal plane after he leaves office, Axios reported on Sunday.
The New York Democrat wrote to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the acting Department of Defense inspector general, and the Office of Government Ethics requesting an investigation of the gift.
“With an estimated value of $400 million, the aerial palace would constitute the most valuable gift ever conferred on a president by a foreign government,” the congressman stated in the letter.
Torres requested an “immediate” ethics review of the reported gift and an advisory opinion on whether it violates federal ethics rules or the Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
He also requested a recommendation on “policy reforms to prevent the conversion of foreign gifts into private property by current or former presidents.”
The Democratic National Committee harshly criticized the Trump administration for the gift, writing in a press release that “while working families brace for higher costs and empty shelves, Trump is still focusing on enriching himself and his billionaire backers.”
The press release added that “Trump gutted anti-corruption enforcement on Day One and
installed a loyalist in key oversight positions, while enriching himself and his billionaire Cabinet.”
Trump toured the plane, which has been referred to as a “flying palace,”when it was parked in West Palm Beach earlier this year. ABC News reported that the Justice Department has drafted an analysis for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth concluding that it would be legal to accept the gift and later transfer it to Trump’s presidential library.
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