As lawyers responsible in recent White Houses for enforcing the rules against foreign government presents for presidents, we believe Donald Trump is transgressing them in the most brazen of ways. We’re not just talking about his apparent eagerness to accept an airplane valued at about $400 million from Qatar. His crypto entanglements are just as bad — perhaps even worse.

Let’s start with the plane. The Qatari royal family may donate a luxury Boeing 747-8 that will be upgraded to serve as Air Force One. Mr. Trump has long coveted a new presidential plane. He reportedly toured the Qatari-owned 747-8 this year when it was parked at a Florida airport.

This arrangement has been blessed by his White House counsel, David Warrington, and his attorney general, Pam Bondi, on the theory that Mr. Trump is not getting the plane, the United States is.

Yet Mr. Trump would be personally benefiting from the use of the plane while in office and could continue to do so after he leaves office. Functionally, this is a gift to him, notwithstanding the rationalizations offered by administration lawyers.

The foreign emoluments clause of the Constitution forbids the president from accepting a present or emolument — a benefit, or anything of value — from a foreign government without permission from Congress. That was an issue we litigated in a series of cases during the first Trump term; in each one, judges held that Mr. Trump could not accept various items of value from foreign states (the Supreme Court dismissed the cases as moot after his term ended).

Mr. Trump’s defenders may argue that there is precedent for transferring an Air Force One plane to a president. One used by several presidents was decommissioned in 2001 and was given to the Reagan Library. But the comparison is inapt: The Air Force One that sits at the Reagan Library did not start out in the hands of a foreign government. Nor was it made available for Ronald Reagan’s personal use — it was retired and simply went straight to his library. (Mr. Trump denies that he will travel in the plane after his term ends.)

The other big Trump emoluments issue concerns crypto and another country on his current Middle East tour. A venture fund backed by the government of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates is reportedly conducting a business transaction using $2 billion in a stablecoin, USD1, offered by the Trump family crypto company, World Liberty Financial. This enterprise is largely owned by Mr. Trump and his family, and the president is listed as “chief crypto advocate.” This digital currency is pegged to the U.S. dollar. Mr. Trump and his family stand to profit handsomely.

This business and Mr. Trump’s other crypto ventures, like his Trump meme coin, provide a virtually limitless opportunity for foreign governments to pump emoluments to Mr. Trump. All a foreign government need do, like the state-backed Emirati investment firm, is to put cash in World Liberty Financial.

This also runs afoul of the foreign emoluments clause — and it captures why we have these rules in the first place. The conflict of interest is clear. How can we trust someone who is in charge of regulating crypto if he could benefit from lax regulation?

Mr. Trump has heightened this concern about impropriety with stunts like giving the top buyers of his $Trump meme coin personal access to him at a private dinner. Even worse, he has put White House entry up for sale, with the very largest purchasers offered a tour. Of course, he is not the first president to court scandal with such access; donor sleepovers in the Lincoln Bedroom during the Clinton administration come to mind. But those donations pale by comparison to the amounts at stake in Mr. Trump’s crypto auction.

Thankfully, there is something that can be — and is being — done about these emoluments conflicts. Last week, more than 40 Senate Democrats (joined by two Republicans) stepped up to block the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act of 2025. The bill fails to address the obvious issue of a president meant to be regulating crypto who is speculating in crypto. Senator Elizabeth Warren noted that the bill would make “it easier for the president and his family to line their own pockets,” and others criticized the bill for its lack of protections against money laundering.

Opponents of this bill should not yield unless Congress is willing to put restrictions on Mr. Trump’s crypto investments, including at a minimum barring him from accepting emoluments from foreign governments. For example, Congress could mandate that Mr. Trump’s investments go into a genuinely blind trust over which he has no control. That is what Jimmy Carter did with his peanut farm.

Moreover, a revised crypto bill should also address the potential new Air Force One. The Constitution provides that foreign emoluments may be accepted only if approved by Congress. Not only does that body have ample ethics reasons to block the gift, it is also a national security nightmare. Experts are already raising questions about whether the plane will be free of surveillance concerns.

We were part of the efforts to curb Mr. Trump’s emoluments in his first term. Given his rampant disregard for the Constitution, it’s probably only a matter of time before another case is brought against him building upon the broad reading of the emoluments clause that we previously secured.

American people should make their disgust known: There is no room for this kind of flagrant disregard of the Constitution in the skies above or in digital wallets down below.




Norman Eisen is the publisher of The Contrarian and the executive chair of Democracy Defenders Fund, for which Virginia Canter is the chief anticorruption counsel. Richard W. Painter is a law professor at the University of Minnesota. They served as ethics counsels in the Obama, Clinton and George W. Bush White Houses.

Anyone bitch when Manbearpig got a jet?

https://dunning-kruger-times.com/al-gore-received-a-20-million-custom-gulfstream-from-the-sultan-of-kuwait/ [/i][/color]

We're talking about personal usage and he still ownit!

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?

If true, that is wrong as well- and should not be permitted.

The Clinton one was fake news.

Hope so, but if not, he should not get that helicopter.

I could sure go for a helicopter about now.. 😟

Apparently this 747 was bought for $400 million 12 years ago. It is not worth $400 million. Qatar has had it up for sale for quite some time with no offers.

Uhm, I heard it was not going to Trump personally, but to the Department of Defense.

We give away mega tons of military equipment to other countries, including enemies like the Taliban, are we naughty?

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They prolly got a tax deduction... oh wait, never mind.

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So what. See the Emoluments Clause.
I don't care if it was $100 dollars.
AiF1 should be built in the U.S by security cleared folks under heavy guard.
It's a security/safety thing, among many others.
Besides, if it is time for a new AF1, just buy one.
Afterall, it is a necessity.

its not true so...

Both stories originate from from a site where the first line of the about us is "Dunning-Kruger-Times.com is a subsidiary of the “America’s Last Line of Defense” network of parody, satire, and tomfoolery"

according to Trumps own people it will transfer to the Trump library when he leaves office... it will be for trump and no other president... it was not a gift to the US... it was personal...

The order for two new 747 AF1s was placed with Boeing in 2017. They now expect to deliver the first one in 2027 and 5 years behind schedule.

I expect it would take 2 years to get this 747 to be Air Force worthy so I would turn it down. If Boeing can actually deliver in 2027 it might have a new AF1 ready around the same time this now 14 year old Qatari plane is ready and becomes obsolete immediately. The only cool thing is it sounds like L3Harris would do all the overhaul/Safety/security so maybe that work would be in Melbourne and I could go see it!

I would just let the Qataris sell this off to be converted to an air cargo configuration.

Does the Emoluments Clause say the Department of Defense can’t accept this jet?

MAY donate….

I’d say I’m surprised but the same people that are up Russia Russia and “want to know more about this Carter Page”…..didn’t want to discuss defendants not getting due process for J6 because they believed everything.

Keep eating your 💩 sandwich!

Sounds to me like they're donating a plane to the office of the president, which Trump currently holds. If it stays with the office when he leaves office... what's the foul?

I do not think he should accept it as a personal gift, but for the USA... why not?

Speaking of planes...


President Donald Trump was in Qatar on the second stop of his Middle East trip and the White House said he "signed an agreement with Qatar to generate an economic exchange worth at least $1.2 trillion." That figure includes "economic deals totaling more than $243.5 billion between the U.S. and Qatar."

The White House said that Boeing and GE Aerospace landed a deal with Qatar Airways worth $96 billion to acquire up to 210 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and 777X aircraft, which are powered by GE Aerospace engines.

That marks the largest-ever order for Boeing's widebody aircraft, as well as the largest-ever 787 order. The White House said the deal "will support 154,000 U.S. jobs annually," which would total more than 1 million jobs over the production and delivery cycle for the deal.


Not a bad days work... 😟

You’d think US security would go over it with a fine toothed comb.

I might have to go back and take a civics class again. The founding fathers put together a seemingly great system of checks and balances. Each of the three wings has their own jobs which (I thought) everyone respected.

We now have laws written by congress, signed by the president (TicToc), who delayed the implementation. And it still ihasnt been in-acted by the following president.

The plane thing listed above.

Deportations of citizens of the United States without due process. Seems cut and dried as a violation of the Constitution. What are the Supremes doing? Isn’t this in their “court.”

They also have another great benefit in their role; they can simply choose not to take the case. Good work if you can get it.

Prior to these recent events, if the three branches were supposed to be Separate But Equal, it seemed to me the Supreme Court had slightly more power.

-They could rule a president’s action unconstitutional.
-Same with striking down a law congress wrote and presented signed.

The new apparent reality is the Executive Branch is strongest.

Just like President Jackson and the Cherokees in Georgia. Paraphrasing, he said. “The court has made their ruling, now have them enforce it.”

Is this going to be the new normal? Will the next Blue president take the current state and push it further? Dangerous precedent.

Apparently you only have one attention span and it’s DJT.

Congress has been abdicating their power for decades, most has been steered to administrative law and the abuse of Chevron Deference ….SCOTUS just ruled on this about some fishermen. Then alphabet agencies responded by ignoring it and continuing on.

Congress is supposed to vote on stuff like this, they could choose not to. Congress did vote to not allow a gift to Andrew Jackson. Dangerous precedent? I’m gonna send you some black pearls (charcoal) to clutch so I can get some diamonds outta this by the end of the 3rd term.

Wait...you just doubled down???


BAWHAHAHAHAAAAA!

And then the DNC stepped up their game...

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Then the presstitutes lie for them.

Whips up the insane...

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Took them sooooooo long to show up...DC police.....yeah. "He had a lot of ammo".

Which lead to this...

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Which brought you this...

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No magic. No spells. America had enough of the bat$hit crazy the DNC foisted on them. Even to this day key demographics are asked by the presstitutes "Would you change your vote today?" and the resounding answer is NO. Tells anyone all they need to know but here you want to tell us different and blurt "Cheez Whiz"...and whatever else makes you chuckle to yourself.

If Qatar wants to give a President a plane to use as AF1 (because Boeing can't produce one on schedule)...they can. You tell em they can't. Hold a sign on a street corner stating they can't. That'll show him. Call your representative in DC and give them a piece of your mind! Maybe they'll impeach him for this evil horrible transgression.

What I think is awesome is all the signed deals he got done for America and American workers while he was in Saudi Arabia. Working for Peace with other nations as well, yet you bash the guy and attempt to make it unseemly. Why can't you see this as a win for America and even for the World? You were NEVER going to get this under the last administration. If Harris was dragged across the finish line it would've been a continuation of the $hitshow she was a part of and you know it. Is the man perfect? Who is? Last time I can remember there being a perfect man they scourged him, hung him on a cross and shoved a spear into his side. You and many here claimed I had an obsession with the last fool...well there's an entire thread devoted to it and by all means PLEASE show me on that where I was lying about him and the job he did. What is pouring sand into the gears of the Lefty Boo-Frickety-Hoo Crying Game is that they have to resort to lies. Lies told over and over until those unwillingly to do any research on their own sop up like biscuits with gravy. Lies. Peddled around by every faction of the Free Press and awarded for their "contribution to Society". Makes anyone want to vomit. Not you though. You're still bitter from having the rug yanked out from underneath you. Charlie Brown isn't going to kick the football. So, after each fantastical tale it happens over and over and over...you'd think one would learn from it. Not you.