Schumer Freezes DOJ Nominees Over Qatar Jet "Gift" To Trump

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that he is placing a blanket hold on all Justice Department political nominees as he demands answers about the Trump administration’s plans to accept a luxury jet from the Qatari royal family for use as Air Force One, Morgan Rimmer reported for CNN.

The U.S. Constitution prohibits government officials from accepting gifts “from any King, Prince, or foreign State.” I Photo: Senator Chuck Schumer Facebook

“News of the Qatari government gifting Donald Trump a $400 million private jet to use as Air Force One is so corrupt that even Putin would give a double take,” Schumer said on the Senate floor, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“This is not just naked corruption, it is also a grave national security threat.”

He added: “In light of the deeply troubling news of a possible Qatari-funded Air Force One, and the reports that the attorney general personally signed off on this clearly unethical deal, I am announcing a hold on all DOJ political nominees until we get more answers,” according to additional reporting by Manu Raju, Ted Barrett, and Alison Main for CNN.

The U.S. Constitution prohibits government officials from accepting gifts “from any King, Prince, or foreign State,” under what is known as the Emoluments Clause, Agence France-Presse (AFP) also reported.

Schumer called on the Justice Department’s Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) unit to “disclose all activities by Qatari foreign agents inside the U.S. that could benefit” Trump or his businesses.

While a blanket hold does not completely block confirmations, it forces the Republican Senate majority to use valuable floor time to overcome the hold. Only a simple majority vote is required to do so.