Qatari PM denies jumbo jet gift to Trump is bribery

Qatar’s prime minister on Tuesday denied accusations that Doha’s offer of an estimated-$400 million Boeing 747 jet to U.S. President Donald Trump was an attempt to curry favor with the White House administration.

“I call it an exchange between two countries. And basically the relationship that we have between Qatar and the United States is a very institutional relationship,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said. “The plane story is a ministry of defense to department of defense transaction, which is basically done in full transparency and very legally, and it’s part of the cooperation that we’ve been always doing together for decades.”

Trump, who carried out a whirlwind tour of the Middle East stopping in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates last week, has come under fire from opposition politicians at home after Doha proposed the jet gift. Qatar also at the time agreed to order up to 210 American-made Boeing 787 Dreamliner and 777X aircraft powered by GE Aerospace engines, in what the White House has

“The Constitution charges Congress with ensuring the President does not use the highest office in the land as a get-rich-quick scheme to pocket lavish gifts from foreign Presidents, Dictators, and Emirs. It is high time that Congress do its job,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee.

“This is the definition of corruption,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday.

Trump has defended the “very nice gesture” from Qatar as a contribution for the Defence Department while Boeing builds additional aircraft, rather than as a personal gift.  

“They’re giving us a free jet. I could say, ‘no, no, no, don’t give us, I want to pay you a billion or 400 million or whatever it is,’ or I could say, ‘thank you very much,'” he said last week,  adding in a separate exchange, “I could be a stupid person and say no, we don’t want a free very expensive airplane, but … I thought it was a great gesture.”