The Pentagon and the Qatari government are close to finalizing the deal that will turn a $400 million ‘flying palace’ into President Donald Trump’s next Air Force One.
CNN reported Monday on the language used in the agreement between Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his Qatari counterpart, which could still be tweaked ahead of a formal announcement.
The transfer of the lavish Boeing 747-8 is being labeled an ‘unconditional donation.’
‘This donation is made in good faith and in the spirit of cooperation and mutual support between the parties,’ the document said. ‘Nothing in this MoU is, or shall be interpreted or construed as, an offer, promise, or acceptance of any form of bribery, undue influence, or corrupt practice.’
Democrats – and even some Republicans – raised objections when the White House announced in May that the Qataris would be gifting the plane to the Americans, so that Trump could get a new Air Force One before the end of his second term.
Eyebrows were further raised when it was announced that the plane would follow Trump to his presidential library after his term was done.
Trump took time in mid-February to tour the Qatari aircraft, which was parked at the West Palm Beach airport, several miles down the road from Mar-a-Lago.
Ahead of his trip to the Middle East in mid-May, which included a stop in Doha, Qatar, the framework for the deal became public.
The Pentagon and the Qatari government are close to finalizing the deal that will turn a $400 million ‘flying palace’ (pictured) into President Donald Trump’s next Air Force One
An interior shot of the lavish Boeing 747-8, which is being called an ‘unconditional donation’ to the U.S. Department of Defense from the Qatari government
After the trip, the Americans officially accepted the gift.
The initial agreement was signed by Hegseth and Qatar’s deputy prime minister and minister of state for defense affairs, Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani on July 7.
It’s unclear when the final agreement will be signed off on.
A Pentagon spokesperson told the Daily Mail on Monday, ‘We have nothing to share on this.’
The plane is currently sitting in San Antonio, Texas.
The aircraft comes to the Defense Department ‘as is,’ meaning U.S. taxpayers will be paying for the upgrades needed to turn the ‘flying palace’ into a flying Situation Room.
Hegseth has tried to keep the pricetag of the project quiet.
During a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing in June, the Pentagon chief irritated Democratic Sen. Jack Reed by testifying that the timeline and the price of the project needed to remain classified.
President Donald Trump toured the Qatari ‘flying palace’ in mid-February when he was in Florida spending time at Mar-a-Lago
Hegseth justified the secrecy by saying it would ‘ensure the safety and the security of the president of the United States.’
The Department of Justice also hasn’t released the memo, penned by Attorney General Pam Bondi, that outlines the legal justification allowing the Trump administration to accept the gift from the Qatari government.
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On Monday, the government transparency group, the Freedom of Press Foundation filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit to get access to that document.
Bondi’s memo reportedly argues that the Qatari donation is legally sound as long as the plane goes to Trump’s presidential library at the end of his term.
Trump is expected to build a presidential library in Florida, after changing his residency from his native New York to the Sunshine State in 2019.
Early in his first term, the president negotiated the price of two new Boeing planes that would be used as Air Force Ones, but the project has been hampered by delays and cost overruns.
Trump also designed a color scheme to mimic the one on his ‘Trump Force One’ private plane.
When President Joe Biden came into office, he chose to maintain the traditional Kennedy-era color scheme on the new Air Force Ones.
The president told the Daily Mail in February that ‘no matter what’ his new Air Force One would have his preferred color scheme.