President Trump’s plans to accept a luxury Boeing 747-8 plane from the Qatari government is “obviously” a violation of the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause, according to a former White House ethics lawyer.
“Everybody gets a $400 million plane from the government of Qatar. They give them out like the M&M’s acts. And I and Alyssa [Farah Griffin] used to enjoy in the White House mess. I mean, it‘s so obviously, a violation of the emoluments clause,” Norm Eisen, the executive director of the legal advocacy group State Democracy Defenders Fund, said Monday on CNN’s “AC360.”
“I litigated these issues in multiple courts that found Trump had implicated emoluments rules the first time around. It‘s unconstitutional,” Eisen, a vocal critic of the president, told host Anderson Cooper. “And even his own party is calling him out on it.”
The president confirmed recent news reports that his administration plans to accept a luxury jet from the Qatari royal family.
The plane would temporarily replace the three-decades-old Air Force One and later be transferred to Trump’s presidential library when he departs from the White House. The jet would be received by the Defense Department, according to the president.
Trump told reporters on Monday that it would be “stupid” for him not to accept the gift, calling it a “great gesture” from Qatar.
“They said, ‘We would like to do something,’ and if we can get a 747 as a contribution to our Defense Department to use during a couple of years while they’re building the other ones, I think that was a very nice gesture,” he added.
The move has sparked controversy. Even some of Trump’s staunch allies, such as conservative commentator Laura Loomer, have said the gift could be a “stain” on his legacy.
Democrats in Congress have also strongly rebuked the president over the jet. Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) called for an ethics review in response to the reports about the jet, while in the Senate, four lawmakers are attempting to force a vote on a measure “to reiterate a basic principle: no one should use public service for personal gain through foreign gifts.”
Some Senate Republicans signaled on Monday that they have multiple concerns with the president potentially accepting the plane as a gift from the Qatari government.
“I’m not flying on a Qatari plane. They support Hamas,” Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said. “I don’t know how you make it safe.”
Others seemed to brush off the concerns.
“I wish somebody would offer me a $400 million plane to get back and forth on,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) said Monday.
“I’m all for it. If they offer him a plane — the ones we got, it costs a fortune to keep going. They’re 40-years-old,” the Alabama senator added. “Boeing — at least they made [the Qatari] one.”
