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Year: 2025

House Democrat calls for ‘immediate’ ethics probe of Qatari plane gift to Trump

House Democrat calls for ‘immediate’ ethics probe of Qatari plane gift to Trump

A Democratic congressman is calling for an ethics investigation over President Donald Trump’s plans to accept a $400 million jet from Qatar that would temporarily serve as Air Force One before being allotted to Trump’s presidential library after he leaves office. Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., wrote to the Government Accountability Office on Sunday, noting that the plane would be the single most expensive gift ever received by a U.S. president. Torres derided the deal as a “flying grift,” arguing it violates the Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which “explicitly prohibits any person holding public office from accepting ‘any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.’” “I am writing to express alarm over reports that President Donald Trump is poised to accept a luxury aircraft — a Boeing 747-8 — from the government of Qatar. The plane, so opulent it has been described as a ‘palace in the sky,’ is set to be made available to President Trump for official use as Air Force One and then for private use once he leaves office,” Torres wrote. “This ‘flying grift’ is merely the latest chapter in a tawdry tale of presidential profiteering unprecedented in American history,” Torres added. TRUMP TEASES ‘VERY, VERY BIG ANNOUNCEMENT’ AHEAD OF MIDDLE EAST TRIP, CARNEY SAYS HE’S ‘ON EDGE OF MY SEAT’ Trump described the deal in his own words on social media in a post Sunday night. “So the fact that the Defense Department is getting a GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE, of a 747 aircraft to replace the 40-year-old Air Force One, temporarily, in a very public and transparent transaction, so bothers the Crooked Democrats that they insist we pay, TOP DOLLAR, for the plane,” he wrote. “Anybody can do that! The Dems are World Class Losers!!!” he added. TRUMP STAFFERS LOAD BOXES OF ITEMS SEIZED BY FBI IN 2022 MAR-A-LAGO RAID ONTO AIR FORCE ONE ABC News reported that Trump toured the plane in West Palm Beach earlier this year. While the deal is set to be announced during Trump’s trip to the Middle East this week, the actual transaction is not expected to be made until later. Qatari officials say they expect to donate the plane through the Pentagon. “The possible transfer of an aircraft for temporary use as Air Force One is currently under consideration between Qatar’s Ministry of Defense and the U.S. Department of Defense, but the matter remains under review by the respective legal departments, and no decision has been made,” Qatari embassy official Ali Al-Ansari told ABC News. Presidents have for decades circumvented the Emoluments Clause by classifying gifts they receive while in office as gifts to the office of the president. Those gifts are then cataloged and stored as part of their presidential libraries after leaving office. While presidents maintain some level of access to the items in their libraries, they do not own them directly and must purchase them from the federal government in order to secure private ownership. TRUMP STAFFERS LOAD BOXES OF ITEMS SEIZED BY FBI IN 2022 MAR-A-LAGO RAID ONTO AIR FORCE ONE If the jet were to enter Trump’s presidential library, it is unclear how costs would be apportioned for maintenance and usage costs. When not in office as president, Trump has traveled in his private Boeing 757 jet, dubbed Trump Force One. That jet is famously emblazoned with Trump’s last name and was frequently seen in the backdrop of campaign rallies.

Trump’s 17th week back in office to focus on Middle East trip, admin leaders ironing out China trade talks

Trump’s 17th week back in office to focus on Middle East trip, admin leaders ironing out China trade talks

President Donald Trump‘s 17th week back in the Oval Office will see him focus on his visit to the Middle East, which will mark the first major overseas trip of his second term.  “President Trump will return to [the Middle East to] re-emphasize his continued vision for a proud, prosperous and successful Middle East where the United States and Middle Eastern nations are in cooperative relationships and where extremism is defeated in place of commerce and cultural exchanges,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Friday.  “This trip ultimately highlights how we stand on the brink of the golden age for both America and the Middle East, united by a shared vision of stability, opportunity and mutual respect, the president greatly looks forward to visiting with our brave men and women in uniform at our U.S. air base in Qatar throughout this trip.” Trump is slated to depart Washington, D.C., on Monday for visits to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The president disclosed last week, when Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited the White House, that he would be making “a very, very big announcement” ahead of his departure for the Middle East, but has not shared additional details.  TRUMP AND CHINA CLOSE IN ON TRADE DEAL AFTER PRODUCTIVE TALKS, BESSENT SAYS “We’re going to have a very, very big announcement to make, like as big as it gets,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday. “And I won’t tell you on what… and it’s very positive.” “It is really, really positive. And that announcement will be made either Thursday or Friday or Monday before we leave,” Trump added. “But it’ll be one of the most important announcements that have been made in many years about a certain subject, very important subject. So you’ll all be here.”  ISRAEL SAYS TRUMP’S MIDDLE EAST VISIT IS THE ‘WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY’ FOR HOSTAGE DEAL Trump’s four-day trip abroad comes amid continuing war between Israel and Hamas, ongoing U.S.-Iran negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, and reported plans to broaden his first administration’s Abraham Accords, which normalized diplomatic relations between Israel and Arab League nations such as the United Arab Emirates.  “Eight years ago, President Trump’s first trip was to this same region of the world, where he introduced his bold peace-through-strength foreign policy strategy. On that trip, the president laid out his goal of eradicating terrorism and extremism in the region, which he successfully accomplished over the course of his administration with the total defeat of ISIS and the historic signing of the Abraham Accords,” Leavitt told the media on Friday. TRUMP TEASES ‘VERY, VERY BIG ANNOUNCEMENT’ AHEAD OF MIDDLE EAST TRIP, CARNEY SAYS HE’S ‘ON EDGE OF MY SEAT’ Under his first administration, Trump made his maiden voyage as president in 2017 to Saudi Arabia and Israel, before also traveling to Europe. The trip to the Middle East this week is billed as Trump’s first major overseas travel as president, though Trump also visited Rome late last month for Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican.  As Trump prepares to depart for the Middle East, administration officials spent the weekend in Geneva negotiating with Chinese counterparts to iron out a potential trade agreement.  Early Monday morning, the U.S. and China released a joint statement revealing that “the United States and China will each lower tariffs by 115% while retaining an additional 10% tariff,” according to the White House.  The U.S. imposed tariffs as high as 145% on Chinese goods earlier this year as the president looks to bring parity to the nation’s chronic trade deficit with foreign countries. The tariffs on China followed Trump’s April 2 “Liberation Day” trade announcement, when he unveiled his reciprocal tariff plan on dozens of nations, including China. He paused all the reciprocal tariffs except on China later that month as countries requested to make trade deals. China, meanwhile, imposed their own tariffs on the U.S., including a 125% duty tax on U.S. goods.  Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met with Chinese trade officials in Switzerland this weekend, where Trump said “great progress” was made between the two countries.  “Many things discussed, much agreed to. A total reset negotiated in a friendly, but constructive, manner. We want to see, for the good of both China and the U.S., an opening up of China to American business. GREAT PROGRESS MADE!!!” he posted on Truth Social on Saturday. TRUMP SAYS 80% TARIFF ON CHINA ‘SEEMS RIGHT’ AHEAD OF WEEKEND TALKS WITH BEIJING Bessent added on Sunday that the leaders from both countries held “productive” talks, before revealing early Monday that tariffs imposed on both countries would be reduced for a 90-day period.  PIVOTAL TRADE TALKS WITH BEIJING LOOM AS TRUMP SWEARS IN NEW US AMBASSADOR TO CHINA: ‘WHAT TIMING’  The Trump administration is slated to begin welcoming White Afrikaners from South Africa to the U.S. this week as they face “unjust racial discrimination” in their home country, according to the administration.  “What’s happening in South Africa fits the textbook definition of why the refugee program was created,” White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller told reporters Friday. “This is persecution based on a protected characteristic – in this case, race. This is race-based persecution.” Trump signed an executive order in February that cut U.S. funds to the South African government as well as an offer to Afrikaners allowing them to move to the U.S. under refugee status.  TRUMP TO BRING WHITE AFRIKANERS TO US AS REFUGEES FROM SOUTH AFRICA, IN WAKE OF EXPROPRIATION LEGISLATION Trump signed the EO targeting South Africa after the country enacted a law allowing the government “to seize ethnic minority Afrikaners’ agricultural property without compensation” and the country taking “aggressive positions toward the United States and its allies, including accusing Israel.” “The Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall take appropriate steps, consistent with law, to prioritize humanitarian relief, including admission and resettlement through the United States Refugee Admissions Program, for Afrikaners

‘Nonpartisan’ CBO’s health division overwhelmingly staffed by Dems, GOP-aligned group says

‘Nonpartisan’ CBO’s health division overwhelmingly staffed by Dems, GOP-aligned group says

EXCLUSIVE: A division of the Congressional Budget Office, the agency charged with providing budget and economic information to lawmakers, is stacked with liberal Democrats, putting into question its long-standing reputation of being nonpartisan.  The American Accountability Foundation, a conservative government research nonprofit, found that much of the CBO’s Health Analysis Division is made up of Democrats or Democratic donors. Of the 32 staff members in the division, 26 of them, or 84%, have “clearly” verified liberal partisan biases, being either a Democrat donor, a registered Democrat, or a Democratic primary voter, the group said in a memo outlining its findings, which come ahead of potential scrutiny of President Donald Trump’s budget request.  NPR, PBS CHIEFS SET TO CLASH WITH GOP LAWMAKERS DURING DOGE SUBCOMMITTEE HEARING “The CBO likes to call itself ‘nonpartisan’ in an attempt to disguise its role as an undercover leftist think tank,” AAF President Tom Jones said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “In fact, the CBO is institutionally progressive, with 84% of its professional healthcare staff members being registered Democrats. These same staff members, who are on record donating to radicals like Elizabeth Warren and Hillary Clinton, ‘score’ legislation and present it to the American people like it’s sacrosanct.” Jones accused the CBO staffers of not just voting left, but using their influence to promote progressive policy changes.  DOGE SUBCOMMITTEE INVITES NPR, PBS CHIEFS TO TESTIFY ON THEIR FEDERAL FUNDING, ‘SYSTEMICALLY BIASED CONTENT’ “The Health Analysis Division has been overtaken by liberal group think,” the memo states. “As policymakers consider pronouncements and scores from CBO over the coming weeks, they should regard those from the Health Care Analysis Division with deep suspicion and should likely disregard them as the product of a politically biased policy shop, much as they would analysis from an institution like the Center for American Progress.” The HAD is tasked with analyzing federal programs and policies that include Medicare, Medicaid and subsidies provided through health insurance exchanges. Its staffers produce reports on policy issues and play a key role in certain estimates of proposed changes in health care programs, the CBO website states. The report noted that the CBO works to “cultivate” a reputation as a “non-partisan scorekeeper, just balls and strikes.” That reputation is so entrenched, the AAF said, that 1,358 different news media stories in the last year alone have appended the word “nonpartisan” to the beginning of the office’s name, reporting on the “nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.” “While the CBO has spun a narrative through the mainstream media that it’s a neutral scorekeeper, it’s one big gaslighting campaign to distract from the office’s fundamentally progressive roots.” Jones said. “They know the next few months with reconciliation are crucial and will do everything they can to slam and stall the Trump administration’s policies.” CBO employees are barred from engaging in political activity if it would “identify, or appear to identify, CBO with a political campaign, candidate, officeholder, or cause,” its website states.  “The specific positions taken are irrelevant; rather, the potential harm to CBO’s reputation for objectivity comes from association with political activity or public advocacy,” it adds.  The agency doesn’t hire employment candidates based on their political affiliation, it said.  Research conducted by the group found that Health Analysis Director Chapin White is a Democratic donor, having given money to former Secretary of State John Kerry. White made a $300 donation to Kerry’s failed presidential bid in 2004, according to Federal Election Commission data.  White referred Fox News Digital to the CBO, which declined to comment. TRUMP FCC CHAIR TARGETS NPR, PBS FOR INVESTIGATION AHEAD OF CONGRESSIONAL THREATS TO DEFUND One analyst has donated to several Democratic elected officials, including former President Joe Biden and various members of Congress, according to the FEC. Many others are registered Democrats or have donated to Democratic pollical candidates, the think tank said.  Much of the data gathered by the AAF was obtained through public campaign finance reporting agencies or from voter registration offices, noting that many CBO employees live in Virginia, which doesn’t have partisan registration, the nonprofit said.  Virginia also restricts access to voter history records via the state’s Freedom of Information Act, making it challenging to ascertain whether voters cast ballots in Democratic or Republican primaries, it said.  However, the AAF said it obtained Virginia voting history information from a trusted third-party source.  “There were four staff members for whom AAF was unable to secure voting history or registration information,” it said. “AAF strongly suspects if the staffers listed as ‘Data on Definitive Partisan Bias Unavailable’ were asked whether they vote in Democrat or Republican primaries (or if they had voted for Kamala Harris or Donald Trump) very few, if any, will respond that they are Republicans.”

PKK to disband, potentially ending decades of conflict in Turkiye

PKK to disband, potentially ending decades of conflict in Turkiye

Move by Kurdish armed group follows February call by jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan to lay down arms. The Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, has announced that it plans to disband and disarm, potentially bringing decades of conflict with Turkiye to an end. The move was reported on Monday by the Firat News Agency, a media outlet close to the armed group. Part of a new peace initiative with Ankara designed to end four decades of violence, the announcement follows a call in February by jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan for the PKK to lay down its arms. Following a party congress in northern Iraq that ended on Friday, the group said it had reached “historic” decisions that would be shared with the public soon. Firat reported that a statement by Ocalan outlining his “perspectives and proposals” was read during the congress. In a statement carried by Firat on Monday, the PKK announced that its armed struggle had successfully challenged policies that sought to suppress Kurdish rights. The PKK has “completed its historical mission”, it read, and “the 12th PKK Congress has decided to dissolve the PKK’s organisational structure and end its method of armed struggle”. Advertisement “As a result, activities carried out under the name ‘PKK’ were formally terminated,” the statement said. According to Turkiye’s state news agency Anadolu, a spokesperson for Turkiye’s governing AK Party said: “If the new PKK decision is fully implemented, shutting down all PKK branches, illegal structures, it will be a turning point.” Shifting regional sands The announcement signals the potential end of a conflict that has plagued the region, spilling over into northern Iraq and Syria. In February, Ocalan – who has been in jail since 1999 – called on the group to lay down its arms and dissolve itself in a bid to end the hostilities, which have claimed tens of thousands of lives since the 1980s. The PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkiye and most Western states, announced a ceasefire days later, but set conditions to disband, including the establishment of a legal mechanism for peace talks. The group said the Kurdish people would embrace peace and a democratic process, and “will understand the decision to dissolve the PKK and end the armed struggle method better than anyone else”. “We believe that Kurdish political parties, democratic organisations and opinion leaders will fulfil their responsibilities in developing Kurdish democracy and ensuring the formation of a Kurdish democratic nation.” The announcement by the PKK comes against a backdrop of major changes in the region, including a new administration in Syria, the weakening of the Hezbollah armed group in Lebanon and the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Advertisement In recent years, the PKK had been limited to isolated attacks inside Türkiye as the military pushed its fighters across the mountainous border into Iraq. The latest peace initiative was launched in October by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s coalition partner, Devlet Bahceli. The far-right politician suggested that Ocalan could be granted parole if the PKK renounces violence and disbands. In late February, Erdogan described the group’s potential dissolution as a “historic opportunity to advance towards the objective of destroying the wall of terror”. The future of PKK fighters remains uncertain, including whether they may be relocated to third countries. Any concessions the PKK might obtain in exchange for its decision to disband have not been disclosed. Adblock test (Why?)