US defence officials confirm acceptance of Qatari plane for Air Force One

The US has accepted a airplane meant for the Air Pressure One fleet from Qatar, a present that has sparked criticism together with from a few of President Trump’s largest supporters.

“The secretary of defense has accepted a Boeing 747 from Qatar in accordance with all federal rules and regulations,” Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell mentioned in an announcement on Wednesday.

The airplane will should be modified earlier than it may be used as a part of Air Pressure One – the president’s official mode of air transport.

The White Home insists that the present is authorized, however the announcement of the switch every week in the past induced big controversy.

The airplane is a present from the Qatari royal household and is estimated to be value $400m (£300m). The White Home says that the brand new airplane will likely be transferred to Trump’s presidential library on the finish of his time period.

It may require years to suit with further safety techniques and upgrades required to hold the president – together with the power to face up to the electromagnetic pulse from a nuclear blast, and to refuel mid-flight.

Mark Cancian, a senior adviser with the Middle for Strategic and Worldwide Research’ Protection and Safety Division, says the prices of such retrofitting may simply run to $1bn (£750m).

Justifying the switch every week in the past Trump mentioned: “They’re giving us a gift”. The president has additionally mentioned it might be “stupid” to show down the airplane.

The US Structure has a provision generally known as the Emoluments Clause, which prohibits presents to public officers from international governments with out permission of Congress. The switch has not acquired congressional approval.

The president has argued that the airplane switch is authorized as a result of it’s being given to the US defence division, and to not him personally. He additionally insisted he wouldn’t use it after leaving workplace.

The present Air Pressure One fleet contains two 747-200 jets which have been in use since 1990, together with a number of smaller 757s.

Trump has expressed his displeasure on the plane producer Boeing, which has been contracted to offer the White Home with two 747-8s straight.

His workforce negotiated to obtain them throughout his first time period in workplace, although there have been repeated delays and Boeing has cautioned that they won’t be out there for 2 or three extra years.

Trump surreptitiously visited the Qatari airplane in Palm Seaside, close to his Mar-a-Lago resort, only a few weeks after the beginning of his second time period in workplace.

The president insists there isn’t any quid-pro-quo concerned and that the airplane is an easy change between two allies.

On Fact Social he wrote: “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.”

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani has mentioned the switch “is a government-to-government transaction.

“It has nothing to do with private relationships – neither on the US facet, nor the Qatari facet. It is between the 2 defence ministries,” he said.

But those assertions have done little to calm the criticism of the deal, including from a number of Trump’s allies in Congress and the right-wing media.

“I believe it isn’t definitely worth the look of impropriety, whether or not it is improper or not,” Rand Paul, Republican senator from Kentucky, told Fox News.

“I ponder if our capacity to evaluate [Qatar’s] human rights report will likely be clouded by the very fact of this massive present,” Paul said.

Another Republican senator, Ted Cruz of Texas, said accepting the gift would pose “important espionage and surveillance issues”.