Donald Trump’s future presidential library, more likely to be positioned in Florida, is already raking in money and objects that many contemplate to be thinly veiled bribes or payoffs.
On Wednesday, the Division of Protection confirmed it had accepted a $400 million luxurious jet from the federal government of Qatar—a present that has drawn widespread and well-deserved criticism. In spite of everything, it seems to be a transparent violation of the Structure’s emoluments clause, which bans public officers from accepting presents “of any kind.”
Trump has tried to defend accepting the jet by saying it’s a present to the Division of Protection, not him, despite the fact that he additionally says it’ll wind up in his presidential library after he leaves workplace.
However consultants disagree. As an example, Richard Briffault, a Columbia Legislation College professor specializing in authorities ethics, advised NPR that if the aircraft joins Trump’s library as soon as he exits the White Home, “then it is not likely a present to america in any respect.”
A 13-year-old personal Boeing plane that President Donald Trump toured takes off from Palm Seaside Worldwide Airport, in Florida, on Feb. 16.
Worse, this $400 million luxurious “gift” will seemingly price taxpayers round $1 billion in modifications to make it a brand new Air Drive One. And consultants say these upgrades is probably not accomplished earlier than Trump leaves workplace, that means this aircraft might go straight to his library.
“It looks like a bribe and a signal to every company that corruption is the name of the game,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, stated concerning the Meta settlement.
Trump’s record-breaking inauguration fund, flush with donations from firms and the billionaire class, far exceeded the prices of the occasion. The Wall Avenue Journal studies that what’s left will discover its technique to Trump’s library.
Mom Jones additionally factors out that Trump’s historical past of shady dealing with of categorised paperwork and his lack of transparency—akin to round issues like his first inauguration fund’s spending—make it tough to imagine something Trump’s crew says about how a lot cash will truly go to Trump’s presidential library.
Presidential libraries are costly to construct. For instance, former President Barack Obama’s library has been criticized for its growing building prices, with the general price ticket now estimated to be round $830 million. And the maintenance for the presidential library system has risen, now costing round $100 million a yr.
However how a lot will it price to take care of Trump’s luxurious jetliner and the hanger his library might want to hold it in?
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