Qatari PM denies jumbo jet gift to Trump is bribery

Qatar’s prime minister on Tuesday denied accusations that Doha’s offer of an estimated-$400 million Boeing 747 jet to U.S. President Donald Trump was an attempt to curry favor with the White House administration.

“I call it an exchange between two countries. And basically the relationship that we have between Qatar and the United States is a very institutional relationship,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said. “The plane story is a ministry of defense to department of defense transaction, which is basically done in full transparency and very legally, and it’s part of the cooperation that we’ve been always doing together for decades.”

Trump, who carried out a whirlwind tour of the Middle East stopping in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates last week, has come under fire from opposition politicians at home after Doha proposed the jet gift. Qatar also at the time agreed to order up to 210 American-made Boeing 787 Dreamliner and 777X aircraft powered by GE Aerospace engines, in what the White House has hailed as the “largest-ever” widebody and 787 orders at Boeing — a major U.S. defense contractor.

Al-Thani on Tuesday stressed the gesture was a “normal thing that happens between allies” and dismissed allegations that Qatar may be seeking to “buy influence with this administration.”

“It’s a two-ways relationship. It’s mutually beneficial for Qatar and for the United States. Nothing [has] been done by us under the table,” he noted. “A lot of nations has gifted the U.S. many things. I am not comparing that to the Statue of Liberty, but…”

Trump said last week in a Truth Social media post that the prospective gifted plane would “temporarily” replace the 40-year-old Air Force One aircraft that typically serves the U.S. president. According to the Associated Press, he separately said the plane would later join a future presidential library foundation. Boeing is currently producing an Air Force aircraft One, which has been delayed alongside other deliveries amid the company’s supplier and parts hurdles

Democrats have lambasted the Qatari offer raising broader ethical and security concerns. Under a Foreign Emoluments Clause, the U.S. Constitution says that “No Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.”

Several Democrats have submitted a resolution in the House of Representatives calling on Trump to submit all plans for the jumbo jet donation to Congress in compliance with the Foreign Emoluments Clause.

“The Constitution charges Congress with ensuring the President does not use the highest office in the land as a get-rich-quick scheme to pocket lavish gifts from foreign Presidents, Dictators, and Emirs. It is high time that Congress do its job,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee.

“This is the definition of corruption,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday.

Trump has defended the “very nice gesture” from Qatar as a contribution for the Defence Department while Boeing builds additional aircraft, rather than as a personal gift.  

“They’re giving us a free jet. I could say, ‘no, no, no, don’t give us, I want to pay you a billion or 400 million or whatever it is,’ or I could say, ‘thank you very much,'” he said last week,  adding in a separate exchange, “I could be a stupid person and say no, we don’t want a free very expensive airplane, but … I thought it was a great gesture.”