Make Bribery Wrong Again

Donald Trump plans to accept a $400 million bribe from a country he once called a state sponsor of terrorism, and yet Republicans don’t seem to care

White House photo by Tia Dufour on Wikimedia Commons

For the past two years, Republicans used their majority in Congress to investigate baseless accusations that former President Joe Biden engaged in a bribery and extortion scheme involving his son, Hunter, and the Ukrainian energy company Burisma.

Despite their unrelenting efforts, Republicans couldn’t find anything incriminating against the so-called “Biden crime family.” Likewise, the source who spread the false allegations, Alexander Smirnov, was later identified as a Russian asset and arrested for lying to Congress.

Now, one election later, felon President Donald Trump is poised to accept a $400 million gift (bribe) from the government of Qatar in one of the most visible and open-and-shut cases of presidential corruption in American history. Conveniently, Republicans no longer seem to care.

“I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer,” Trump said of accepting a 747-8 luxury airliner from the government of Qatar, which he plans to use as Air Force One until the end of his current term.

During a press conference, House Majority Leader Mike Johnson frustratingly claimed the Qatar jet deal, which conspicuously violates the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause, isn’t in his lane to investigate.

“Look, I have been a little busy on reconciliation. I am not following all the twists and turns of the Qatar jet,” the Republican leader told reporters. “I am going to leave it to the administration. They know much more about the details, OK? It’s not my lane.”

“There are authorities that police executive branch, ethics rules. I’m not an expert,” he added.

Johnson worked as a constitutional lawyer before entering politics and graduated from Louisiana State University with a Juris Doctor degree, the mark of a legal expert.

Although the administration and the president’s allies have branded the “palace of the skies” Qatari airliner as a donation made to the United States by an international partner — much like how the Statue of Liberty was gifted from France — it should be blatantly obvious to every non-brainwashed person that this is a bribe specifically given to Donald Trump the individual.

Since his first term, Trump has expressed frustration about how the current generation of Air Force One, which was developed by Boeing roughly forty years ago, fails to match the opulence and grandeur of the flying yachts currently owned by the royal families of the Middle East.

As Boeing has notoriously struggled in the wake of its recent controversies, American-made replacements for Air Force One won’t come until 2028–2029 at the earliest, meaning they won’t be entered into service until the end of the president’s term. Trump, who views himself as a king, wants to enjoy the complete luxuries of a flying palace before leaving office, making the Qatari airliner his only viable option.

Make no mistake, America doesn’t need this gift — neither does Trump. Despite being old and worn around the edges, the VC-25As currently used as Air Force One are the only jet airliners in existence that meet the strict requirements for presidential security. They will still be perfectly usable for the next four years at least; they just don’t carry the glamour the fat pig demands in every aspect of his life.

Likewise, despite how Republicans are calling the Qatari airliner “free,” experts believe it would cost at least $1 billion in renovations to meet military requirements for presidential security, which will ultimately come out of taxpayers’ paychecks.

Lawmakers have also noted how the plane might become a glaring counterintelligence hazard — a Trojan horse of sorts that foreign agents could use to spy on U.S. government communications. As such, sweeping the airliner for listening devices and tapped communications would present another massive taxpayer expense.

There is nothing free about it, Trump will just get a shiny new toy.

Regardless of how you evaluate the price or practicality of this “donation,” accepting it is unacceptable at every level. Frankly, it’s criminal. The Emoluments Clause of the United States Constitution clearly says that the president must not accept lavish gifts provided by kings or princes, which surely includes Arabian royals such as the Emir of Qatar.

No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.

Plus, just imagine how stunningly ironic and anti-MAGA it would be to have one of the most visible symbols of American hegemony — Air Force One — be supplied by a theocratic foreign government in the Middle East. Satire practically writes itself these days.

Again, less than a year ago, elected Republicans unanimously prioritized investigating and prosecuting bogus rumors that Biden benefited from a made-up $5 million bribery scheme. Now, their God-king, Donald Jesus Trump, is going to accept a $400 million bribe in broad daylight — but that’s not in their lane.

Mike Johnson finally said the quiet part out loud: Political corruption is okay as long as conservatives are the ones doing it. Former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley perhaps said it best: “If this were Biden, we would be furious.”

I don’t know about you, but I simply can’t get over just how sketchy this entire deal is, especially considering Trump’s history with Qatar and the deplorable makeup of his cabinet (pun intended).

Namely, Trump’s choice for attorney general, Pam Bondi, worked as a Qatari foreign agent before joining the current administration. I’m not even editorializing — Bondi lobbied on behalf of Qatar while working for the Ballard Partners D.C.-based consulting group, which collected up to $115,000 a month from the nation’s government.

So much for America first.