Pete HegeSeth, the Secretary of Defense of the US, adopted a luxurious Boeing 747 aircraft from runny nose for US President Donald Trump to be used as Air Force One, said Pentagon on Wednesday, despite constant questions about ethics and legality to take an expensive gift from a foreign nation.
Pentagon spokesman, Sean Parnell, the United States Defense Department “will work on ensuring proper security measures” to ensure security by the President of Pentagon. He added that the aircraft was adopted “in accordance with all federal rules and regulations.”
Trump defended a gift that appeared during his last journey in the Middle East as a way to save tax dollars.
“Why our army should, and therefore our taxpayers, be forced to pay hundreds of millions of dollars when they can get them for free”, published Trump on his website in social media while traveling.
“Palace in the sky”
Others, however, stated that Trump's acceptance by the plane, which was called the “palace in the sky”, was a violation of the ban on the constitutions of foreign gifts. Democrats were united in indignation, and even some allies of the Republican President in Congress expressed fears.
“This unprecedented action is a stain in the office of the presidency and cannot become unanswered,” said the leader of the Democratic Senate Chuck Schumer from New York. “Until the Americans get the transparency of this shady agreement, which apparently contains a corrupt conspiracy for Donald Trump to stop the plane in my library after leaving the office, I will continue to keep all political candidates of the Department of Justice.”
The nation of the Qatar proposed to give US President Donald Trump 747 a jet of about $ 400 million, saying that it is ok because the plane is not directly for him. Eli Glasner from CBC spreads problems with the adoption of a “free jet”.
Schumer introduced regulations that would forbid a foreign aircraft to use as Air Force and prohibit the use of taxpayers' money to modify or restore the aircraft.
Critics noticed the need to modernize the aircraft to meet the safety requirements that would be expensive and would take time.
“Far from saving money, this unconstitutional action will not only cost our nation to his dignity, but will force taxpayers to waste over a billion dollars of taxpayers to review this particular aircraft, when we currently do not have one, but two fully operational and fully talented air forces,” said Senator Tammy Duckworth, Illinois.
During the interrogation on Tuesday that the “dangerous way of acting” is to receive a plane from the family of the ruling Katari.
“Really outrageous”
Not only the seating of legislators is critical of the script that develops between the USA and Qatar.
“The concept that the President of the United States will accept $ 400 million $ 747 from a foreign government, every foreign government … is really outrageous,” said Susan Rice, who was an advisor to national security at Barack Obama, During a conversation with David Frum from the Atlantic On the offer of Qatar.
The Secretary of the US Air Force Troy Meink told senators that HegSeth ordered the service to start planning how to update the jet to meet the necessary standards and confirmed that this would require “significant” modifications.
In a statement, the Air Force informed that it is preparing to grant a contract for the modification of the Boeing 747 aircraft, but all details are classified.
Trump was asked about moving on Wednesday during a meeting in an oval office with the president of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa. “They give jet to the United States Air Force,” said Trump, invading the question of the reporter's gift.
Trump said he had received “not to me, the United States Air Force, so that they could help us.”
Ramaphos, who was sitting next to Trump in an oval office and worked on repairing his relationship with the president, said: “I'm sorry I don't have a plane to give you.”
“If your country offered the United States Air Force aircraft, I would take it,” said Trump.
Trump did not present any national security to get a quick update, instead of waiting for Boeing to complete the new Air Force One Jets, which have been at work for years.
He tried to force the opposition, saying that he would not fly on the plane when his term ends. Instead, he said, the plane will be handed over to the future presidential library, just like Boeing 707 used by US President Ronald Reagan, was withdrawn and staged as a museum work.