Dem senators demand Pentagon watchdog look into Trump’s acceptance of Qatar plane

A group of senior Democratic senators want the Pentagon’s watchdog to look into President Trump’s potential acceptance of a $400 million luxury Boeing jet gifted by Qatar, and the Defense Department’s role in the transfer. 

The group of nine lawmakers, led by Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), asked the inspector general of the Defense Department (DOD) to launch an inquiry into the department's role in “facilitating and serving as a pass-through” for the Trump administration to accept a Boeing 747-8 to be used as a new Air Force One, according to a letter sent Tuesday.

Trump earlier this week confirmed he intends to accept the Qatari plane — which would be one of the largest foreign gifts ever accepted by a U.S. president — calling the transaction “very public and transparent.”

But the lawmakers, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate Armed Services Committee ranking member Jack Reed (D-R.I.), worry about the constitutional, legal and national security issues should Trump take possession of the aircraft. 

“This foreign emolument — and DOD’s possible involvement in facilitating it — could present severe foreign influence and counterintelligence risks,” they wrote. “It could entangle DOD in President Trump’s personal financial interests and conflicts of interest, warp DOD’s military recommendations and advice moving forward, and undermine public confidence in the Department.”

Numerous Democrat lawmakers and even some in the GOP have already raised questions over the administration's proposed plan for the Air Force to take possession of the 13-year-old Qatari aircraft and modify it for presidential use. Among the naysayers has been Reed, who has said using the plane as Air Force One “would pose immense counterintelligence risks by granting a foreign nation potential access to sensitive systems and communications.”

Trump, who has said the plane would eventually be transferred to the Trump Presidential Library Foundation after he leaves office, rebuffed concerns Monday and said refusing the Qatari’s offer would be foolish.

“I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer,” he told reporters. “I could be a stupid person and say, ‘No, we don’t want a free, very expensive airplane.’”

Boeing, since 2018 in Trump’s first term, has had a contract with the U.S. government to replace its pair of aging Air Force Ones, two military versions of the Boeing 747. The delivery of the aircraft has been delayed until at least 2027, however, something Trump has latched onto in arguing the Qatari jet could serve as an interim.

But administration officials have neglected to mention that any such gifted aircraft would need to be retrofitted from the inside out with new power systems, electrical wiring and other technology for secure communications and self-defense. Such a process could take years to complete and cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

Reed joins the other eight senators to say Trump’s intentions “raise the troubling prospect” that the administration will involve the DOD in the transaction to “provide cover to give the transfer of the plane the appearance of an official gift,” as well as “place the onus on DOD to retrofit the plane at considerable cost to U.S. taxpayers.”

The department "risks becoming embroiled in a brazen attempt to evade constitutional limitations on the acceptance of personal gifts from foreign governments without congressional approval,” they write to acting DOD Inspector General Steven Stebbins. 

The lawmakers ask Stebbins for an estimate on the cost and time it would take to retrofit the plane for presidential use and “the counterintelligence and security risks of incorporating this aircraft, provided by a foreign government, into the Air Force One fleet.”

They also asked for clarification on the legality of Trump accepting the plane.