Legal details over accepting Qatari plane to use as Air Force One ‘still being worked out,’ White House says
CNN
“Any donation to this government is always done in full compliance with the law,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday that the legal details on accepting a Boeing 747-8 jet to replace Air Force One as a gift from the Qatari royal family, are “still being worked out.” “Any donation to this government is always done in full compliance with the law,” she added. CNN reported Sunday that the Trump administration was set to accept a plane from the Qatari royal family that will be retrofitted and used as Air Force One during the president’s second term, according to two people familiar with the agreement. When pressed if she believed this “gift” would require something in return, Leavitt responded: “Absolutely not, because they know President Trump, and they know he only works with the interests of the American public in mind.” President Donald Trump said Sunday night that the Defense Department plans to accept the luxury jet as a “GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE,” on social media. He said the multimillion dollar jet would be used on a temporary basis “in a very public and transparent transaction.” 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.
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