The US Department of Justice is facing a federal lawsuit for refusing to release a legal memorandum that reportedly cleared the way for Donald Trump’s acceptance of a $400m luxury aircraft from Qatar’s government.
The Freedom of the Press Foundation, represented by the watchdog group American Oversight, filed the Freedom of Information Act (Foia) lawsuit in Washington DC’s federal district court after the justice department failed to produce the document despite granting expedited processing more than two months ago.
The memo at the centre of the lawsuit was reportedly signed by the US attorney general, Pam Bondi, in May, concluding that accepting the aircraft was “legally permissible”. Bondi previously worked at Ballard Partners as a lobbyist for Qatar, a Gulf country that the Biden administration labelled a “major non-Nato ally” in 2022.
The aircraft, a luxury Boeing 747-8 jetliner dubbed a “palace in the sky”, is set to be retrofitted as a replacement Air Force One at significant taxpayer expense before ultimately being transferred to Trump’s private presidential library foundation when he leaves office. Aviation experts told NBC News that converting the 13-year-old commercial jet into a functional Air Force One would cost well over $1bn.
The timing has raised additional concerns, coming shortly after the Trump Organization secured a deal with Qatar for a luxury resort and golf course development outside Doha. Questions persist about whether Qatar initiated the aircraft offer or responded to approaches from Trump’s team.
“It shouldn’t take 620 days to release a single, time-sensitive document,” said Lauren Harper, Freedom of the Press Foundation’s chair on government secrecy. “The government’s inability to administer Foia makes it too easy for agencies to keep secrets.”
