Democratic Congressman Richie Torres called for an investigation after reports that US President Donald Trump plans to accept a Boeing 747-8 aircraft worth about $ 400 million as a gift from the royal family of Qatar, Axios reported.
According to the portal, Torres has already written to the Court of Auditors, the Inspector General of the Department of Defense and the Office of Official Ethics with a request to investigate the matter.
The “Air Palace“, which is estimated at $ 400 million, would be the most expensive gift ever given to a president by a foreign government,“ the portal quotes an excerpt from the letter of the congressman.
Trump immediately expressed dissatisfaction with the reaction of the Democrats to his intention to accept a gift from the Qatari royal family.
“The fact that the Department of Defense is receiving a Boeing 747 for free to temporarily replace the 40-year-old Air Force One in a very public and transparent deal is so disturbing to the corrupt Democrats that they are insisting that we pay for this plane“, the US president wrote on the social network Truth Social.
Earlier, ABC reported that the Trump administration is preparing to accept a Boeing 747-8 aircraft as a gift from the Qatari royal family. The channel's sources noted that the aircraft will serve as the new presidential aircraft until the end of Trump's term, after which it will be transferred to the ownership of the Trump presidential library. Such property transfers would not be considered bribes under the law, according to an analysis conducted for the Pentagon by the White House and Justice Department consulting firm.
Aviation industry experts told the channel that the cost of the plane could be around $400 million, but it would need to be retrofitted to provide secure communications, which would also increase the cost.