Democrat Adam Schiff presses the DOD General Inspector to obtain details on Trump’s Qatari Airplane gift

Senator Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, is requesting that the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Defense initiate an investigation into the role of the department in “facilitating and serving as a transfer” for the Trump administration to accept a luxury plane donated by the Qatari government to use as the One Air Force, ABC News has learned exclusively.

President Donald Trump confirmed on social networks this week an ABC News report that his administration was preparing to accept the plane, calling him a “very public and transparent transaction” with the Department of Defense.

In a letter sent on Tuesday, also signed by the Senate Minority leader, Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., and the member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Jack Reed, Dr.i., along with six other Senate Democrats, Schiff raised the Interim Inspector Steven Steven Stebbins a series of constitutional, legal and legal security concerns nationals related to possible Qatar gifts.

“Public reports propose the worrying perspective that the administration involved DOD A (1) Washes this inadmissible gift, so that the department can provide coverage to give the transfer of the plane the appearance of an official gift; (2) Place the responsibility in the Department of Defense in the DOD to the relocation of the plane at a considerable cost for US taxpayers; and (3) (3) Before at the end of its term for continuous use in a personal capacity, “, the Senators letter.

The Democrats asked Stebbins to initiate an investigation into the participation of the Department of Defense by facilitating the possible transfer of foreign gifts and requested an “audit and comprehensive research” on any “fraud, waste and abuse” when a possible transfer is completed, since a new new new reactivation of the plane should occur if it was going to be used as the Air Force force to the Air Force. They also stated that the Trump administration is avoiding constitutionally provided railings by accepting foreign gift.

“The DOD runs the risk of being entangled in a shameless attempt to evade constitutional limitations in the acceptance of personal gifts of foreign governments without the approval of the congress,” they continued in their letter.

The letter also requested: “In a classified way, if necessary,” the estimation of costs and the probable timeline for the modernization and installation of communications and other equipment necessary to meet the safety and counterintelligence requirements for the Air Force force fleet and any timeline that the White House has dictated so that this plane is ready for its use by Trump.

They also asked if the necessary modifications can be done within a period of time to meet the Air Force One standards and what possible risks could be associated with that timeline. In addition, they requested answers on whether the existing contract for other Air Force One aircraft will continue or end and what would be the cost of any termination.

The final application is whether there would be any risk of counterintelligence and security with the incorporation of this plane, provided by a foreign government, to the Air Force fleet.

“The OIG of the DOD received the letter this afternoon and we are checking it,” said the Pentagon office of the general spokeswoman of Inspector General Mollie Halpern in a statement.

The main plane used in the current Air Force One fleet includes two Jumbo 747-200 Jumbo aircraft that have been operational since the early 1990s. The Air Force contract with Boeing to replace these planes has been plagued with delays and excess costs, with the most recent estimated delivery date of Boeing now scheduled for 2027.

Senate assignments subcommittee on the member of the Chris Coans defense ranking, D-Del., And the sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Tammy Duckworth, D-Bill., Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., They are the other Democrats who signed the Schiff’s letter.

Earlier on Tuesday, Schumer sent a separate letter to the attorney general Pam Bondi expressing concern about the “naked corruption appearance” raised by Trump’s informed plans to accept a Qatar government plane. Schumer also said that he believes that the plane raises a “serious security risk” and cited informing that Bondi personally signed in the transaction. In the light of what Schumer called the “central role of Bondi in the approval of the proposal,” he asked Bondi to answer a series of questions related to the proposed endowment.

Allison Pecorin of ABC News contributed to this report.