Bribe Force One
Qatar’s “gift” to Trump wasn’t the only corruption scandal to rock the White House this week.
During his first term, President Trump’s acts of corruption and personal enrichment were often carried out in the shadows. This time around, it’s all out in the open. And even Republicans and Fox News hosts are having a hard time excusing his behavior now that Trump is readying to accept an ultra-luxury Boeing 747-8 jet from Qatar.
With a price tag of about $400 million, the “palace in the sky,” from a country Trump attacked for its terrorist ties during his first administration, would perhaps rank as the most valuable gift ever presented by another government to a U.S. official.
There are recent examples we can turn to, although not nearly as exorbitant.
The Obamas, for instance, “received” diamond- and jewel-encrusted jewelry along with gold-plated ornaments from the Saudis in 2011. George W. Bush, during his tenure, was also given gifts and artifacts. Afghan President Mohammed Ashraf Ghani bestowed silk carpets on Joe Biden. The practice of giving another foreign leader fancy gifts isn’t new, or even rare. But none of Trump’s predecessors were ever given anything as opulent or valuable as the Qatari jet, and the process by which presidents can accept them is laid out by the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution:
“No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And 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,” it reads.
Under normal circumstances, and “per U.S. government protocol, they must accept the gifts in cases where ‘non-acceptance would cause embarrassment to [the] donor and U.S. government.’ The items must be later turned over to the National Archives and Records Administration, or the recipient can pay the market value of the gift and keep it,” according to reporting by U.S. News & World Report.
Do we expect Trump to pay the “market value” for the Qatari jet? Of course not, and we’d be shocked if he did. Even though he has said he plans on keeping it for personal use after leaving office—via “donation” to his presidential library foundation. Quite the loophole!
As for ethical and legal concerns, Trump’s White House and his acolyte Attorney General Pam Bondi have given the green light for this bribe gift. This is barely a surprise given that Attorney General Bondi, who herself has been embroiled in ethics scandals for years, served as a lobbyist for Qatar prior to joining the administration.
Though many Republicans and even some in the media have dismissed legitimate concerns about bribery and quid pro quo in the absence of clearly articulated terms around the plane’s exchange, Vox’s Abdallah Fayyad summed it up perfectly:
Sure, it might be intended as a good gesture, but a gesture that pricey almost certainly comes with the expectation that the president will give Qatar something in return. There doesn’t need to be an explicit quid pro quo to assume that the gift might be more of an investment—just like those looking to buy influence in the Trump White House might flock to buy stock in his media company or some of his meme coins. The fact that this proposed gift comes at the heels of the Trump Organization striking a deal to build a luxury golf resort in Qatar should also raise eyebrows.
Over the past few weeks, Trump’s sons, Eric and Don Jr.—who both still work at the Trump Organization—have been jet-setting across the Persian Gulf in advance of Trump’s state visits this week.
“A week before Trump was scheduled to land in Saudi Arabia for a trip that would also take him to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, his son Eric spoke to a crowded convention center in Dubai about the Trump Organization’s plans to build an 80-floor hotel and residential tower there,” The Washington Post reported.
The Trumps’ cryptocurrency venture, World Liberty Financial, is also set to receive a $2 billion investment from a firm backed by Abu Dhabi, according to the Post.
And, to bring it full circle, the Trumps agreed two weeks ago to pump $5.5 billion into the development of a “beachside ultra-luxury community,” featuring a golf course and luxury villas in Qatar.
Beyond ethics violations, the cost of converting this jet into an Air Force One replacement would likely be hundreds of millions of dollars. That’s our tax money, for overhauling a luxury jet that will ultimately be for Trump’s private, personal use.
And this isn’t the only profiteering scheme Trump has engaged in this week!
On Monday, the 220 largest investors in Trump’s cryptocurrency were confirmed for “an ultra-exclusive VIP reception with the president.” In short, wealthy investors pumped nearly $2 billion into Trump’s cryptocurrency—that he personally profits from—in order to have a private dinner with him. There are a couple of things to consider here. First, and again, the obvious ethical considerations around the clear conflict of interest. While most of the identities of the winners are, for now, unknown, analysis by Bloomberg of the top holders’ crypto wallets suggests many of them are non-U.S. users, raising concerns about foreign influence.
But shortly after winners were selected, dozens of the top investors sold off their stake, leaving unsuspecting supporters left holding the bag as the value of their investments dropped. POLITICO reports that “at least 34 of the top 220 investors in the $TRUMP memecoin who are in line to be invited to attend the May 22 dinner at Trump’s golf club in Virginia had sold most of their stakes in the token by Monday evening, hours after the cutoff to be considered for the guest list.” Last week, CNBC found that while only 58 crypto wallets had made more than $10 million, more than 764,000 wallets saw losses.
Trump’s administration is defined by greed and corruption but also by his callousness—toward the American people and even, and especially, his own supporters. He will siphon hundreds of millions of dollars from government coffers to revamp a luxury plane while insisting that average working people are buying too many toys for their kids or that schoolchildren don’t need so many pencils. He’ll use government resources to conduct personal business matters in the Gulf. He’ll accept luxury gifts from foreign leaders, violating our Constitution. And, when even that isn’t enough to satiate his greed, he’ll scam his own supporters down to their last dollar through a cryptocurrency grift.
- MoveOn
Why is all of this allowed to happen? Where are our Representatives? Our courts? Why the hell is this allowed to go on?