Trump's $400 million 'flying palace' gift from Qatar moves forward after 'bribe' backlash
CNN reported Monday on the language used in the agreement between Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his Qatari counterpart, which could still be tweaked ahead of a formal announcement.
The transfer of the lavish Boeing 747-8 is being labeled an 'unconditional donation.'
'This donation is made in good faith and in the spirit of cooperation and mutual support between the parties,' the document said. 'Nothing in this MoU is, or shall be interpreted or construed as, an offer, promise, or acceptance of any form of bribery, undue influence, or corrupt practice.'
Democrats - and even some Republicans - raised objections when the White House announced in May that the Qataris would be gifting the plane to the Americans, so that Trump could get a new Air Force One before the end of his second term.
Eyebrows were further raised when it was announced that the plane would follow Trump to his presidential library after his term was done.
Trump took time in mid-February to tour the Qatari aircraft, which was parked at the West Palm Beach airport, several miles down the road from Mar-a-Lago.
Ahead of his trip to the Middle East in mid-May, which included a stop in Doha, Qatar, the framework for the deal became public.
After the trip, the Americans officially accepted the gift.
The initial agreement was signed by Hegseth and Qatar's deputy prime minister and minister of state for defense affairs, Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani on July 7.
It's unclear when the final agreement will be signed off on.
A Pentagon spokesperson told the Daily Mail on Monday, 'We have nothing to share on this.'
The plane is currently sitting in San Antonio, Texas.
The aircraft comes to the Defense Department 'as is,' meaning U.S. taxpayers will be paying for the upgrades needed to turn the 'flying palace' into a flying Situation Room.
Hegseth has tried to keep the pricetag of the project quiet.
During a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing in June, the Pentagon chief irritated Democratic Sen. Jack Reed by testifying that the timeline and the price of the project needed to remain classified.
Hegseth justified the secrecy by saying it would 'ensure the safety and the security of the president of the United States.'
The Department of Justice also hasn't released the memo, penned by Attorney General Pam Bondi, that outlines the legal justification allowing the Trump administration to accept the gift from the Qatari government.
On Monday, the government transparency group, the Freedom of Press Foundation filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit to get access to that document.
Bondi's memo reportedly argues that the Qatari donation is legally sound as long as the plane goes to Trump's presidential library at the end of his term.
Trump is expected to build a presidential library in Florida, after changing his residency from his native New York to the Sunshine State in 2019.
Early in his first term, the president negotiated the price of two new Boeing planes that would be used as Air Force Ones, but the project has been hampered by delays and cost overruns.
Trump also designed a color scheme to mimic the one on his 'Trump Force One' private plane.
When President Joe Biden came into office, he chose to maintain the traditional Kennedy-era color scheme on the new Air Force Ones.
The president told the Daily Mail in February that 'no matter what' his new Air Force One would have his preferred color scheme.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
27 minutes ago
- The Independent
Gaza from above: Chilling footage shows devastation of enclave
According to the UN, 92 per cent of homes in Gaza are either destroyed or damaged, and the destruction is so widespread that it could take 21 years to rebuild if the conflict stops. Ceasefire talks have collapsed, and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly favouring a complete military takeover of Gaza, starting with the widening of the current already devastating offensive on the destroyed strip. Rare aerial footage shows the extent of the devastation in Gaza, with tents stretching out towards the horizon as far as the eye can see.
Reuters
27 minutes ago
- Reuters
Trump-led Texas redistricting gambit ignites national arms race to control Congress
Aug 5 (Reuters) - The escalating political fight over the Texas congressional map is spreading across other states across the country, triggering an unprecedented mid-decade redistricting arms race with the balance of power in Washington at stake. At President Donald Trump's urging, Texas Republicans have proposed new congressional districts aimed at flipping five Democrat-held U.S. House seats in next year's midterm elections, further skewing what is already considered a deeply partisan map in that state. In response, Democratic governors elsewhere - most notably Gavin Newsom of California, the only state with more congressional districts than Texas - have threatened to retaliate by mounting their own redistricting efforts. "Donald Trump is a cheater, and so is Governor Greg Abbott," JB Pritzker, the Democratic governor of Illinois, told reporters on Tuesday. Standing alongside him were several of the Democratic lawmakers from Texas who fled their home state on Monday to deny Republicans a quorum and prevent a vote on the proposed new map. "As far as I'm concerned, everything is on the table," Pritzker said. Democrats need to flip only three Republican-held seats to retake the majority in the 435-seat House next year, so even modest gains for either party via redistricting could prove decisive. If Democrats win the House, they could stymie much of Trump's legislative agenda and pursue multiple investigations into his administration. The practice of partisan gerrymandering - manipulating district lines to benefit one party over another - has a long tradition in the United States, but the advent of powerful software and sophisticated voter data has allowed mapmakers to drill down to individual streets and neighborhoods. Redistricting typically occurs every 10 years to incorporate the U.S. Census count. Trump has broken with that convention by openly pushing Texas Republicans to pursue a rare mid-decade redistricting for partisan gain, even though the existing map, which Republicans drew just four years ago, resulted in the party winning 25 of the state's 38 seats. "I won Texas. I got the highest vote in the history of Texas, as you probably know, and we are entitled to five more seats," Trump told CNBC on Tuesday, referring to the 2024 presidential election. Trump has encouraged other Republican states to follow suit. A senior White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters last week the administration believes as many as five states could redraw their maps, including Florida, where Governor Ron DeSantis has expressed a willingness to take such a step. Ohio Republicans will draw a new map ahead of the November 2026 election that could flip at least two Democratic seats. In Missouri, where Democrats hold two of the state's seven seats, some Republican lawmakers have had preliminary conversations about a new map, according to a source familiar with the matter. Other Republican-controlled states that could in theory use redistricting to target Democrats include Kansas, Kentucky and New Hampshire. Democrats, meanwhile, face some legal hurdles in their biggest states. In California, where redistricting is overseen by an independent commission, voters would likely have to approve giving Democratic lawmakers the power to draw a new map. Newsom said on Monday he would put the issue before voters this autumn if Texas moves forward. Experts say a Democratic-drawn map could easily target five Republican incumbents, even though Democrats already hold 43 of the state's 52 seats. New York Governor Kathy Hochul said on Monday that she would not "fight with my hand tied behind my back." Even so, any new map in her state would require voters to approve a constitutional amendment, and that process cannot take place before 2026. In Illinois, where Pritzker and the Democratic-controlled legislature have no restraints, Democrats already hold 14 of the state's 17 U.S. House seats, leaving them without much room to maneuver. Meanwhile, in Texas, the Republican attorney general, Ken Paxton, said on Tuesday he would seek court orders declaring that any Democratic lawmakers who failed to return by Friday will lose their seats. Democrats have dismissed that threat as empty. David Froomkin, a law professor at the University of Houston, said he did not believe judges would buy the argument that lawmakers had created vacancies by leaving the state in protest. "Courts have generally taken the view that a legislator has surrendered their seat when they have chosen to surrender their seat," he said. "Here, they're not intending to vacate their offices – they're exercising their offices by trying to prevent the passage of legislation they find troubling." Paxton's threat follows warrants issued by the Republican Speaker of the Texas House, Dustin Burrows, for authorities to bring the absent lawmakers back to the statehouse for a vote. Abbott has ordered state law enforcement to help find them. But the Democrats have all left the state, putting them beyond the reach of any state agency. Trump told reporters late on Tuesday that the FBI 'may have' to get involved in forcing Democrats back to Texas.
Reuters
27 minutes ago
- Reuters
White House to target banks as Trump claims discrimination
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK, Aug 5 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he believes that banks, including JPMorgan (JPM.N), opens new tab and Bank of America (BAC.N), opens new tab, discriminate against him and his supporters, as he prepares to act against banks for allegedly dropping customers for political reasons. Trump also said the country's top two lenders had previously rejected his deposits, ramping up his attack on the industry. "They totally discriminate against, I think, me maybe even more, but they discriminate against many conservatives," he told CNBC in an interview. Trump made the comments when asked about a report by the Wall Street Journal that said he planned to punish banks that discriminated against conservatives, but did not address the order specifically. The executive order instructs regulators to review banks for "politicized or unlawful debanking" practices, according to a draft reviewed by Reuters. It is likely to be announced on Wednesday, an industry source said. "They did discriminate," Trump said of actions taken by JPMorgan after his first term in office. "I had hundreds of millions, I had many, many accounts loaded up with cash ... and they told me, 'I'm sorry sir, we can't have you. You have 20 days to get out.'" Trump's latest criticism adds pressure on America's largest lenders. The order would likely require banks to conduct sweeping reviews of their businesses to comply with regulations. Trump said, without providing evidence, that the banks' refusal to take his deposits indicated that the administration of former President Joe Biden had encouraged regulators to "destroy Trump." Trump said he subsequently tried to deposit funds with BofA and was also refused, and eventually split the cash. "I ended up going to small banks all over the place," he said. "I was putting $10 million here, $10 million there, did $5 million, $10 million, $12 million," he said, without naming the lenders. "I have them all over the place, the craziest thing, and it's lucky I even had them. They were doing me a favour, and that's because the banks discriminated against me very badly, and I was very good to the banks." In a statement, JPMorgan did not address the president's specific claims about his account. "We don't close accounts for political reasons, and we agree with President Trump that regulatory change is desperately needed," JPMorgan said. "We commend the White House for addressing this issue and look forward to working with them to get this right.' BofA also did not address Trump's specific claims. During Biden's administration, regulators were able to scrutinize banks' decisions on the basis of reputational risks, a second source familiar with the matter said. Lenders were under intense scrutiny and pressure to weigh reputational risks when dealing with Trump because of his legal woes, a third source said. JPMorgan continues to have a banking relationship with members of the Trump family that dates back years, and it also banks a number of campaign accounts linked to Trump, the third source said. After Trump took power, the Federal Reserve announced in June it was directing its supervisors to no longer consider reputational risk when examining banks, a metric that had been a focus of industry complaints. The Wall Street Journal reported late Monday that the expected executive order would instruct regulators to investigate whether any financial institutions breach the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, antitrust laws or consumer financial protection laws by dropping customers for political reasons. The order could authorize monetary penalties, consent decrees or other disciplinary measures against violators, according to the draft. The White House had no immediate comment on the reported order. "What the White House is doing is telling the banks not to hide behind regulations to deny loans or banking relationships," said Wells Fargo bank analyst Mike Mayo. "Banks can use their normal underwriting standards and deny services, but not blame regulators or use reputational risk as a justification." BofA said it welcomed the administration's efforts to clarify the policies. "We've provided detailed proposals and will continue to work with the administration and Congress to improve the regulatory framework," the bank said. Trump in January admonished the CEOs of JPMorgan and BofA for denying services to conservatives. At the time, the two banks denied making banking decisions based on politics. Banks have consistently argued that any complaints about "debanking" should be aimed at regulators, as they argue onerous rules and overzealous bank supervisors can discourage them from engaging in certain activities. "The heart of the problem is regulatory overreach and supervisory discretion," the Bank Policy Institute, an industry group, said in a statement. Lenders have held discussions around debanking and weighed scenarios around a potential order, the first source said. Banks are also hopeful the administration may change anti-money laundering laws that they say are outdated and burdensome, the source added.
