First Fox: House Democrats are launching an investigation into President Donald Trump and the acceptance of a $400 million private jet administration from Qatar's government.
Rep. Jamie Ruskin, a ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, led his fellow Democrats to the panel in a letter Thursday to Attorney General Pam Bondy and White House lawyer David Warrington.
They specifically ask Bondi to hand over the reported legal memo she wrote, aimed at asserting Trump's legality to accept planes on behalf of the United States.
“A legal memo intended to make such a claim will clearly fly in the face of the text of the foreign emolations clause of the Constitution, which explicitly prohibits accepting “any kind of emolum… from a king, prince, or foreign state,” the written statement reads.
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Rep. Jamie Ruskin, a top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, is launching an investigation into President Trump accepting planes from Qatar. (Getty Images)
“We therefore write to require you to immediately provide these notes so that their analysis and conclusions clearly provide these notes, as they are the basis for the President's decision to ignore the obvious texts of the Constitution.”
Ruskin and other Judiciary Committee Democrats went to blame Trump or people on the trajectory seeking bribes from Qatar.
“President Trump's statement, expressing his dissatisfaction with the delivery of his new Boeing aircraft, has become a useful air force, and the timing of this “gift” suggests that President Trump or members of his administration may be inappropriately sought this “great gesture” from the Qatar government,” Democrats said, citing Trump's own comments.
“The fact that the plane doesn't serve the United States, rather than wanting to be donated to his presidential library after his term is concluded further increases the possibility that this 'nice gesture' is intended as a bribe to Donald Trump. ”
Multiple outlets reported that Bondi and Warrington had drafted legal memos that said it was “legally acceptable” for Trump to accept the plane and forward it to his presidential library when he took office.
A source familiar with the discussion told Fox News Digital that the memo was drafted by the Office of Legal Advisors and signed by Bondi.
However, Democrats suggested that the memo is likely not sufficiently grounded for Trump to bypass Congress on the issue, and pointed out that Bondi himself had previously lobbyed on Qatar's behalf.
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Attorney General Pam Bondy speaks with a reporter outside the White House on May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
“The constitution is clear. Congress “has the exclusive authority to approve or reject any kind of gift” given to the president by foreign governments, not attorney general or White House lawyers, the letter said.
“Even if the Attorney General had the constitutional role to play here, it should be noted that Attorney General Bondy had a considerable obvious conflict of interest, taking into account his pre-registration as an official agent for the Qatar government, and had a lobbying of over $115,000 that month.”
When contacted for comment on the issue, a source close to Bondi only said that the letter had been received by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
In addition to searching for the memo itself, the Democrat letter also sought communications and other records regarding the relocation of the Boeing plane, as well as discussions on legal justification of gifts.
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee have little authority to force Trump administration officials to follow, given their status as a minority party in the Chamber of Commerce.
However, since his first term as former president, Ruskin has scrutinized Trump and his inner circle over his family's foreign ties.
The latest letter comes during Trump's diplomatic visit to the Middle East, where Qatar was one of his stops.
Trump has defended the acceptance of the plane multiple times, claiming he was a “silly person” to keep him from taking it, and defeating their criticisms by Democrats.
“So the fact that the Pentagon is temporarily replacing the 40-year-old Air Force with a free gift of 747 aircraft to replace it with a very public and transparent deal is worrisome to the bent Democrats who claim we can pay for the plane. Trump wrote about the true society this week.
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Senate Republicans said they knew little when asked by Fox News Digital earlier this week.
Meanwhile, R-La. Mike Johnson, speaker of the film, skirted the issue at her latest weekly press conference.
“I'm not tracking all the twists and turns of charter jets. My understanding is that it's not a personal gift to the US president, and other countries always give it a gift, but I leave it to the administration. They know more about the details,” Johnson told reporters.
Fox News Digital contacted the White House for comment but did not immediately respond.
