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Trump always manages to escape responsibility because he finds that others do his dirty job. In the case of Trump accepting an $ 400 million plane in Qatar, the autumn guy seems to be the defense secretary Pete Hegseth.
Jamie Raskin, member of the Chamber's Judicial Committee, wrote in Hegseth to inform him that by accepting the plane, he breaks the law.
Raskin wrote in part:
Having done such an exceptional job which contrasts a foreign government to make an unconstitutional and illegal gift, you were rewarded by the president for your work when he assigned you to be the civil servant to officially accept the “flying palace” of the Qatar Royals.
Your own spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense (DOD) said: “The defense secretary has accepted a Qatar Boeing 747.”
Alas for you, this means that, to date, you are now that in violation of the clause of foreign emoluments of the Constitution, because it is clearly just as unconstitutional for you – another “person holder [an] Bureau of profit or trust ”8 of the United States – to accept this luxury plane of the monarchical government of Qatar as it is for President Trump.
This law gives the consent of the congress to government officials to accept certain donations of maximum value of $ 480 – but not of $ 400 million in Jumbo – of foreign governments. The law expressly prohibits an employee of the United States – which includes you – of “[ing] or otherwise encourage[ing] The call for tenders of a gift “as President Trump obviously made your help and that of the ambassador Witkoff.
Worse still for you, the law provides that, to deal with violations, “the Attorney General can bring civil action … against any employee who knowingly solicits or accepts a donation from a foreign government” not in accordance with the law – which this “gift” is not – and allows a court to assess a penalty “not exceed the retail value of the donation requested or received more $ 5,000”.