A White House official stated that the White House’s legal team is currently finalizing the details of the gift, working on a memorandum of understanding — or MOU — between the United States and Qatar.
The plane from Qatar is currently in the United States, according to sources familiar with the matter as well as President Donald Trump, who confirmed the plane was here.
“As the President has said, this will be a sovereign-to-sovereign gift to the US Air Force,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement.
“This is a government-to-government gift transfer from the Qataris to the Department of Defense to the United States Air Force.
And for further details on where that stands, I would defer you to the Department of Defense and the United States Air Force,” Leavitt said during the White House press briefing.
According to sources familiar with the talks and a White House official, the United States and Qatar have not yet finalized the terms of the agreement, which are still being examined by their respective legal teams, despite earlier Department of Defense claims that the United States has formally accepted the luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet from Qatar.
The White House legal team is currently working on a memorandum of understanding, or MOU, between the United States and Qatar, according to a White House official, and finalizing the gift’s specifics. First, the news was reported by the Washington Post.
Both President Donald Trump and people with knowledge of the situation have confirmed that the plane from Qatar is currently in the United States. Qatar, however, wishes to make clear the specifics of the transfer, stressing that the Trump administration was in charge of starting the conversations regarding the donation of the opulent jet to the United States. S. . government, according to people with knowledge of the discussions.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement that “this will be a sovereign-to-sovereign gift to the US Air Force, as the President has stated.”.
This is a “government-to-government gift,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reiterated Thursday when asked about the plane’s specifics and its transfer. “..”.
“The United States Air Force is receiving a gift transfer from the Qataris to the Department of Defense. It’s in their possession now. “And I would refer you to the Department of Defense and the United States Air Force for more information on where that stands,” Leavitt stated at the White House press briefing.
The plane will likely remain available for use by Trump as the new Air Force One until just before he leaves office, after which ownership will likely be transferred to the Trump presidential library foundation, according to sources familiar with the situation who spoke to ABC News earlier this month.
According to Sean Parnell, the chief Pentagon spokesperson, the Pentagon formally accepted the opulent aircraft from Qatar last week.
“In compliance with all federal rules and regulations, the secretary of defense has accepted a Boeing 747 from Qatar,” Parnell stated, adding that the Department of Defense would “assure proper security measures and functional-mission requirements are considered for an aircraft used to transport the president of the United States.”. “.”.
Government officials and intelligence experts say the Trump administration’s intention to accept the Qatari government’s donation of a luxury jet to serve as Air Force One has raised serious security concerns.
Democratic lawmakers have voiced worries that the aircraft might present serious security threats and possibly give a foreign country access to private communications and systems, which would raise counterintelligence concerns. On the other hand, Republican lawmakers have raised concerns about intelligence and questioned the president’s choice to accept a gift from a foreign country.
Former acting Homeland Security official and ABC News contributor John Cohen stated, “For foreign intelligence services looking to learn as much as they can about the president, any building, car, or aircraft where the president is located is a high-value target.”.
According to Trump, “it would be stupid” to decline the free plane, and he has described the Qatari gift as a “very nice gesture.”. “.”.
“I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer,” Trump declared earlier this month. “I could be a moron and say, ‘No, we don’t want a free, really expensive airplane.'”. However, I felt it was a very admirable gesture. “,”.
