A Democratic congressman is calling for an ethics investigation over President Donald Trump's plans to accept a $400 million jet from Qatar that would temporarily serve as Air Force One before being allotted to Trump's presidential library after he leaves office.
Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., wrote to the Government Accountability Office on Sunday, noting that the plane would be the single most expensive gift ever received by a U.S. president. Torres derided the deal as a "flying grift," arguing it violates the Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which "explicitly prohibits any person holding public office from accepting 'any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.'"
"I am writing to express alarm over reports that President Donald Trump is poised to accept a luxury aircraft - a Boeing 747-8 - from the government of Qatar. The plane, so opulent it has been described as a 'palace in the sky,' is set to be made available to President Trump for official use as Air Force One and then for private use once he leaves office," Torres wrote.
"This 'flying grift' is merely the latest chapter in a tawdry tale of presidential profiteering unprecedented in American history," Torres added.
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Trump described the deal in his own words on social media in a post Sunday night.
"So the fact that the Defense Department is getting a GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE, of a 747 aircraft to replace the 40-year-old Air Force One, temporarily, in a very public and transparent transaction, so bothers the Crooked Democrats that they insist we pay, TOP DOLLAR, for the plane," he wrote.
"Anybody can do that! The Dems are World Class Losers!!!" he added.
Taking questions at the White House on Monday, he also said he wouldn't plan on using the jet after leaving office.
"It would go directly to the library after I leave office," Trump said. "I wouldn't be using it, no."
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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told "FOX & Friends" Monday that the legal details "are still being worked out."
"Any donation to this government is always done in full compliance with the law, and we commit ourselves to the utmost transparency, and we will continue to do that," Leavitt said, adding that Trump "only works with the interests of the American public in mind."
ABC News reported that Trump toured the plane in West Palm Beach earlier this year. While the deal is set to be announced during Trump's trip to the Middle East this week, the actual transaction is not expected to be made until later. Qatari officials say they expect to donate the plane through the Pentagon.
"The possible transfer of an aircraft for temporary use as Air Force One is currently under consideration between Qatar's Ministry of Defense and the U.S. Department of Defense, but the matter remains under review by the respective legal departments, and no decision has been made," Qatari embassy official Ali Al-Ansari told ABC News.
Presidents have for decades circumvented the Emoluments Clause by classifying gifts they receive while in office as gifts to the office of the president. Those gifts are then cataloged and stored as part of their presidential libraries after leaving office. While presidents maintain some level of access to the items in their libraries, they do not own them directly and must purchase them from the federal government in order to secure private ownership.
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If the jet were to enter Trump's presidential library, it is unclear how costs would be apportioned for maintenance and usage costs.
When not in office as president, Trump has traveled in his private Boeing 757 jet, dubbed Trump Force One. That jet is famously emblazoned with Trump's last name and was frequently seen in the backdrop of campaign rallies.
