(WASHINGTON) — Despite previous claims from the Department of Defense that the United States has officially accepted the luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet from Qatar, the United States and Qatar have not yet finalized the details of the agreement, which are still being reviewed by the prospective legal teams, according to a White House official and sources familiar with the discussions.
A White House official stated that the White House’s legal team is currently finalizing the details of the gift, working on a memorandum of understanding — or MOU — between the United States and Qatar. The Washington Post first reported the news.
The plane from Qatar is currently in the United States, according to sources familiar with the matter as well as President Donald Trump, who confirmed the plane was here. However, Qatar wants to clarify the details surrounding the transfer, specifically emphasizing that the Trump administration was responsible for initiating the discussions about the donation of the luxury jet to the U.S. government, sources familiar with the negotiations said.
“As the President has said, this will be a sovereign-to-sovereign gift to the US Air Force,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement.
As ABC News first reported earlier this month, the aircraft is expected to be available for use by Trump as the new Air Force One until shortly before he leaves office, at which time the ownership of the plane is expected to be transferred to the Trump presidential library foundation, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
Last week, chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said that the Pentagon had officially accepted the luxury jet from Qatar.
“The secretary of defense has accepted a Boeing 747 from Qatar in accordance with all federal rules and regulations,” said Parnell, adding that the Department of Defense would “work to ensure proper security measures and functional-mission requirements are considered for an aircraft used to transport the president of the United States.”
The Trump administration’s plan to accept the luxury jet donated by the Qatari government to use as Air Force One has raised significant security concerns, according to intelligence experts and government officials.
Democratic lawmakers have expressed concerns that the plane could pose significant security risks and potentially grant a foreign nation access to sensitive systems and communications, raising counterintelligence issues. Conversely, Republican lawmakers have questioned the president’s decision to accept a gift from a foreign nation, also raising intelligence concerns.
“Any building or vehicle or airplane that the president is located is a high-value target for foreign intelligence services who want to gather as much information about the president,” said John Cohen, an ABC News contributor and former acting Homeland Security official.
For his part, Trump said “it would be stupid” not to accept the free plane and has called the gift from Qatar a “very nice gesture.”
“I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer,” Trump said earlier this month. “I mean, I could be a stupid person and say, ‘No, we don’t want a free, very expensive airplane.’ But it was, I thought it was a great gesture.”
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