Trump, Qatar in talks over jet transfer

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump reportedly is ready to accept a luxury Boeing - jumbo jet as a gift from the ruling family of Qatar during his trip to the Middle East this coming week and U S authorities say it could be converted into a promising presidential aircraft The Qatari executive acknowledged discussions between the two countries about the accomplishable transfer of a plane to be used temporarily as Trump s Air Force One but denied that the jet is being gifted or that a final had been decision made ABC News published that Trump will use the aircraft as his presidential plane until shortly before he leaves office in January when ownership will be transferred to the foundation overseeing his yet-to-be-built presidential library The gift was expected to be stated when Trump visits Qatar according to ABC s description as part of a trip that also includes stops in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates the first extended foreign movement of his second term But hours after the news Ali Al-Ansari Qatar s media attach in a comment noted Reports that a jet is being gifted by Qatar to the United States cabinet during the upcoming visit of President Trump are inaccurate The realizable transfer of an aircraft for temporary use as Air Force One is right now under consideration between Qatar s Ministry of Defense and the US Department of Defense the comment mentioned But the matter remains under review by the respective legal departments and no decision has been made Meanwhile administration leaders anticipating questions about the president accepting such a large gift from a foreign establishment have prepared an analysis arguing that doing so would be legal according to ABC The Constitution s Emoluments Clause bars anyone holding governing body office from accepting any present emolument office or title from any King Prince or foreign State without congressional consent Trump faced lawsuits for violating the Emoluments Clause during his first term but those were ended by the Supreme Court in which unveiled the cases moot because the Republican had left office ABC disclosed the new plane is similar to a -year-old Boeing aircraft Trump toured in February while it was parked at Palm Beach International Airport and he was spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago club One expert on leadership ethics Kathleen Clark of the Washington University School of Law in St Louis accused Trump of being committed to exploiting the federal governing body s power not on behalf of approach goals but for amassing personal wealth This is outrageous Clark announced Trump believes he will get away this Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer poked fun at Trump s America first political slogan Nothing says America First like Air Force One brought to you by Qatar the New York Democrat noted in a message It s not just bribery it s premium foreign influence with extra legroom Air Force One is a modified Boeing Two exist and the president flies on both which are more than years old Boeing Inc has the contract to produce updated versions but delivery has been delayed while the company has lost billions of dollars on the project Delivery has been pushed to specific time in for the first plane and in Trump s final full year in office for the second Trump intends to convert the Qatari aircraft into a plane he can fly on as president with the Air Force planning to add secure communications and other classified elements to it But it will still have more limited capabilities than the existing planes that were built to serve as Air Force One as well as two other aircraft at present under construction according to a former U S official The official was briefed about the plane and spoke Sunday on the condition of anonymity to discuss plans that have not yet been made populace The existing planes used as Air Force One are heavily modified with survivability capabilities for the president for a range of contingencies including radiation shielding and antimissile apparatus They also include a variety of communications systems to allow the president to remain in contact with the military and issue orders from anywhere in the world The official recounted The Associated Press that it would be accomplishable to hurriedly add certain countermeasures and communications systems to the Qatari plane but that it would be less capable than the existing Air Force One aircraft or long-delayed replacements Neither the Qatari plane nor the upcoming VC- B aircraft will have the air-to-air refueling capabilities of the current VC- A aircraft which is the one the president at present flies on the official commented Clark explained the released Qatari gift is the logical inevitable unfortunate consequence of Congress and the Supreme Court refusing to enforce the Emoluments Clause Trump s family business the Trump Organization which is now largely run by his sons Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump has vast and growing interests in the Middle East That includes a new deal to build a luxury golf resort in Qatar partnering with Qatari Diar a real estate company backed by that country s sovereign wealth fund Qatar which is ruled by the Al Thani family is home to the state-owned airline Qatar Airways The country also has worked to have a close relationship to Trump after he apparently backed a boycott of Doha by four Arab nations in his first term Trump later in his term applauded Qatar Administration executives have brushed off concerns about the president s program interests blurring with family s business profits They note that Trump s assets are in a trust managed by his children and that a voluntary ethics agreement circulated by the Trump Organization in January bars the company from striking deals directly with foreign governments But that same agreement allows deals with private companies abroad That is a departure from Trump s first term when the organization disclosed an ethics pact prohibiting both foreign regime and foreign company deals White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt when questioned Friday if the president might meet with people who have ties to his family s business declared it was ridiculous to suggest Trump is doing anything for his own benefit Associated Press writer Christine Fernando in Chicago and Jon Gambrell in Dubai United Arab Emirates contributed to this account