Washington – The head of the Senate minority, Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., said on Tuesday that he put a grip on all the candidates of the Ministry of Justice Trump when he was looking for answers in terms of administration to accept a luxury jet of Qatar to be used as Air Force One.
“In the light of the deeply disturbing news of a possible air force financed by Qatari, and the reports according to which the Attorney General personally signed on this case clearly contrary to ethics, I announce a grip on all the political candidates of the DoJ, until we obtained more answers,” said Schumer in the Senate.
The minority chief presented a list of questions and requests to which he says that the Trump administration must answer before raising his grip on the candidates.
“”President Trump told the American people that it was “a free jet”. Does this mean that Qataris provide a ready-to-day plane with all already integrated safety measures? If so, who installed these safety measures, and how do we know that they were properly installed? “Asked Schumer.” If that, like President Trump Promised, a free jet, would Qataris pay for these very sensitive facilities, or will American taxpayers cover the cost? “”
Schumer cannot block these nominees with this tactic, but he can slow their consideration. It is not really clear if the judicial candidates would have already been detained for other reasons, considering that the vast majority of Trump’s candidates have already been held in this way.
The MJ’s legal advisor’s office has prepared a service note declaring that the plane acceptance was legal, a senior DOJ said on NBC News on Monday. The MJ refused to release the memo, which the prosecutor General Pam Bondi approved.
Schumer, in his remarks on Tuesday, called Bondi to testify before the Congress to explain the conclusion that there is no conflict and answer a certain number of questions related to the potential gift.
“The Attorney General must testify before the Chamber and the Senate to explain why Donald Trump’s donation a private jet does not violate the emoluments clause – which requires the approval of the congress – or any other laws on ethics,” said Schumer. “Until the Attorney General explains his manifestly incompetent decision and we obtain complete and complete answers to these questions and others, I will put a grip on all political candidates at the Ministry of Justice.”
Schumer also accused the DoJ of not “doing their job” with regard to the law on the registration of foreign agents, claiming that the unit which oversees the law must enforce information and disclose information to the public “not only on this luxury aircraft agreement, but all the agreements involving foreign countries in the Middle East and the president Trump, his family and the Trump organization.”
As much to comment on Tuesday, a White House spokesman said: “Senator Schumer and his anti-law party and the order favor the policy of Critical appointments of the Doj, obstructing President Trump’s agenda again.
The Ministry of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
Before leaving on Monday for his trip to the Middle East, Trump defended his decision to accept the plane gift, which he called “a very beautiful gesture”. He also said that it would eventually be put out of service and be given to his presidential library.
“Now, I could be a stupid person and say,” Oh no, we don’t want a free plane “,” he told the White House journalists. “I would never be the type to refuse this kind of offer.”
Boeing had already worked on a plan to make Air Force One replacements, but the process was delayed and was over-budget. The CEO of the company told CNBC in January that he was working with Elon Musk to deliver them earlier than expected.
In the meantime, some legal
“Target =” _ Blank “> Experts asked how a gift from Qatar that would follow Trump out of the office could be authorized in the Emoluments clause. Democrats and even certain Trump allies have suggested that the jet could be perceived as a conflict of interest.
Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, a close ally of the president, said on Tuesday that “the plane poses significant spy problems”.
Some Democrats have also called into question the involvement of Bondi in the issue because it has already put pressure on the government of Qatar.
“She was a paid agent of the Qatari government, a lobbyist before becoming a prosecutor general,” the Senate’s minority, Dick Durbin, said on Tuesday, said on Tuesday. “We have questions that we have asked about how she erased her statement of ethics on her relationship with Qatar, and I think this plane agreement is really with this front and this center.”
Legislators and former intelligence officials note the risks of massive espionage posed by such a gift from a foreign government and the long history of gifts that have proven to be more than they seemed. In 1945, for example, Soviet children offered the American ambassador to Moscow a wooden sculpture of the great American seal, and a listening device inside the object was discovered seven years later.
The accusations that Trump illegally benefited from foreign entities are not new. They arose during his first mandate, but the legal issue was never resolved before leaving his duties.
In these cases, there were complaints under the clauses of emoluments, which are anti-corruption provisions which prevent the president from receiving payments from states or donations or payments from foreign officials.
There is no precedent of the Supreme Court on the subject to guide the lower courts on how the clauses can be applied or even which can continue.
