Donald Trump in the current Air Force One Photo: Saul Loeb / AFP / Profimedia
In what could be the most valuable gift ever offered to the United States by a foreign government, the Trump administration is preparing to accept a Boeing 747-8 Jumbo aircraft, with luxury features from the Royal Family in Qatar-a gift that will be available by President Donald Trump as his new Air Force One before his time will end, Transferred to the Trump Presidential Library Foundation, familiar sources have told ABC News with the proposed agreement, reports news.ro.
It is expected that this gift will be announced next week, when Trump will visit Qatar on the first external visit of his second term, according to familiar sources with the plans. Trump inspected the plane, which is so opulent that he is known as the “flying palace”, while he was found at West Palm Beach International Airport in February.
According to experts in the aviation industry, the estimated value of the aircraft that Trump will inherit is about $ 400 million, and this without the additional communications security equipment that the Air Forces will have to add to secure and equipped the plane to safely transport the Supreme Commander.
L3harris aviation company has already been pregnant to review the plane to meet the requirements of a presidential plane.
The extremely unusual – unprecedented agreement, emphasizes ABC News – will certainly raise questions about the legality of the Trump administration and, finally, by the Trump Presidential Library Foundation, such a valuable gift from a foreign power.
Jurists called to pronounce if the gift can be accepted
Anticipating these questions, the sources of ABC News said that lawyers from the White House Legal Bureau and the Justice Department have developed an analysis for the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, concluding that it is legal for the Defense Department to accept the aircraft as a gift and subsequently hand over to the Trump Library. In this way, the legal provisions against the bribe or the prohibition of the Constitution would not be violated for any official of the US government to accept gifts “from any king, prince or foreign state”.
The sources told ABC News that Prosecutor General Pam Bondi and Trump's main lawyer, David Warrington, concluded that he would be “allowed from a legal point of view” that the donation of the aircraft should be conditioned by its property to Trump's Presidential Library before its mandate. The sources said Bondi provided a legal memorandum addressed to the White House Lawyer's office, after Warrington asked for the legality of accepting such a donation.
The plane will need to be modified by Americans
The plane will be initially transferred to the United States air forces, which will modify the 13 -year -old aircraft to fulfill the necessary US military specifications for any aircraft used for the transport of the US President, several sources have said with the proposed agreement. The plane will then be transferred to Trump Presidential Library Foundation on January 1, 2029, and any costs related to its transfer will be paid by US Air Forces, sources for ABC News said.
Both the White House and the Department of Justice have come to the conclusion that, because the gift is not conditioned by any official act, it does not constitute bribe, the sources said. Bondi's legal analysis also says that the Constitution on foreign gifts is not violated, because the plane is not offered to a person, but rather to institutions – the air forces of the United States and, finally, to the Presidential Library Foundation, sources said.
Boeing postponed the delivery of the presidential aircraft
The main aircraft used in the current Air Force One fleet includes two Boeing 747-200 Jumbo aircraft, which are operational since 1990. The Air Force with Boeing contract for replacing these aircraft has many costs and cost exceeds. The initial contract was signed in 2018, but last year, Boeing anticipated that the aircraft will not be ready by 2029, after Trump will leave the office.
The president expressed his deep frustration to these delays and in charge of Elon Musk to collaborate with Boeing and Air Force to speed up the trial. These efforts were a modest success. The latest Boeing estimated delivery date is 2027 now, but Trump has said clearly he wants a new plane this year.
