Chuck Schumer Calls On AG Pam Bondi To Testify Before Congress Amid Trump's 747 Gift Controversy

Forbes Breaking News

During remarks on the Senate floor Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) demanded Attorney General Pam Bondi testify before Congress as President Trump looks poised to accept a gifted 747 plane from the Qatari Royal Family.

Transcript

00:00I ask unanimous consent, the quorum be dispensed with.

00:03Without objection.

00:04Madam President, news of the Qatari government gifting Donald Trump a $400 million private jet

00:13to use as Air Force One is so corrupt that even Putin would give a double take.

00:20This is not just naked corruption, it is also a grave national security threat.

00:26So in light of the deeply troubling news of a possible Qatari-funded Air Force One

00:33and the reports that the Attorney General personally signed off on this clearly unethical deal,

00:41I am announcing a hold on all DOJ political nominees until we get more answers.

00:50Here are some questions that must be answered.

00:53First, I call on the DOJ's Foreign Agent Registration Act unit, or the FARA unit,

01:02to do its job and disclose all activities by Qatari foreign agents inside the U.S.

01:09that could benefit President Trump or the Trump Organization.

01:15Since Attorney General Bondi took charge,

01:18the Department of Justice has not been doing its job when it comes to FARA.

01:22The FARA unit needs to enforce the law and inform the public of all activities,

01:29not just on this luxury plane deal,

01:32but all deals involving foreign countries in the Middle East and President Trump,

01:37his family, and the Trump Organization.

01:41Second, with regard to this half-a-billion-dollar private jet deal,

01:45the American people deserve to know the facts.

01:50President Trump has told the American people this is, quote, a free jet.

01:55Does that mean the Qataris are delivering a ready-on-day-one plane

02:00with all the security measures already built in?

02:04If so, who installed those security measures,

02:09and how do we know they were properly installed?

02:12Why would we take the risk of trusting any foreign country to do this sensitive work?

02:18If not, what security modifications would be needed

02:23to ensure a foreign-sourced Air Force One is safe to use?

02:28If this is, as President Trump promised, a free jet,

02:34will the Qataris pay for those highly sensitive installations,

02:37or will American taxpayers cover the cost?

02:41How much will those modifications cost American taxpayers?

02:50Hundreds of billions of dollars?

02:52Hundreds of millions of dollars?

02:54Billions of dollars?

02:56How much will they cost?

02:58If the American taxpayers are forced to pay for this temporary plane,

03:02does it mean the U.S. government will cancel the contract

03:05for the future Boeing plane?

03:08If so, how much will that cancellation cost?

03:11And if not, why are American taxpayers being asked to spend

03:16hundreds of millions of dollars or more on a plane

03:19that will only be used for a year or two?

03:22Additionally, who in the Trump administration

03:25was responsible for this crooked deal?

03:27What are the parameters of this deal?

03:29And which country brought it up first, us or them?

03:33What is Qatar being offered in return?

03:37Considering past security disasters,

03:39such as the U.S. Embassy in Moscow,

03:41what are the security risks of this arrangement?

03:46And finally, how is this gift not naked corruption?

03:50The Attorney General must testify before both the House and Senate

03:55to explain why gifting Donald Trump a private jet

03:58does not violate the Emoluments Clause,

04:01which requires Congressional approval or any ethics law.

04:06So, until the Attorney General explains her blatantly inept decision

04:12and we get complete and comprehensive to these and other questions,

04:17I will place a hold on all political nominees to the Department of Justice.

04:24That's wonderful.

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