Qatari jets and golden threads

Last week, controversy emerged when President Donald Trump announced that the Emirate of Qatar had offered him a gift: a $400 million jet, a modernized "flying palace" complete with all the fixings. The gift will be presented to the Department of Defense to be retrofit for Air Force One; after a short period of use, it will then make its way to the Trump Presidential Library. Questions remain about the legality of such a gift. Does it violate the emoluments clause of the Constitution? Does it require Congressional approval? Regardless of the legality, one fact is eminently clear: Qatar does not offer gifts without golden strings attached. Ever. Qatar is a tiny nation, with land holdings slightly bigger than Rhode Island and a population the size of Connecticut's — most of whom are migrant workers and/or modern-day slaves. Yet Qatar has spent nearly $100 billion, according to The Free Press, to spread its largesse around the United States, from politicians to universities, from businesses to newsrooms. Recipients include Steve Witkoff, the special envoy negotiating over Iran and Ukraine, who received a $623 million payout for his failing Park Lane Hotel deal; Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was a registered foreign agent for Qatar at the cost of $115,000 per month; a public affairs firm that employed now-Trump chief of staff Susie Wiles; FBI Director Kash Patel, who once worked as a consultant; and the Trump Organization, which just recently signed a deal for a multibillion-dollar luxury golf resort. In two weeks, the Qatar Economic Forum is hosting an event starring Donald Trump Jr. and Omeed Malik. Malik is the head of 1789 Capital, a venture capital fund most famous for funding Tucker Carlson; Don Jr. is executive vice president for development. Malik was also recently appointed to join the board of Fannie Mae. 1789 has reportedly been raking in hundreds of millions of dollars in investment capital, although their investment track record at this point is pretty thin. So, what are Malik and Don Jr. doing in Qatar? They're hosting a lecture titled, "Monetizing MAGA: Investing in Donald Trump's America." Qatar infamously gave $1 million to the Clinton Foundation while Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State. Qatar has dropped $6.3 billion on American colleges and universities, the most of any country; it has dropped $225 million on lobbying in Washington D.C. since 2017. So why is Qatar firehosing all of this cash across America? Because Qatar has an agenda: to play both sides of the table. Qatar happens to be one of the world's leading sponsors of terrorism: They've sent almost $2 billion to Hamas; they've allegedly sponsored al-Qaida and the Muslim Brotherhood. Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates said in 2017, "I don't know instances in which Qatar aggressively goes after (terror finance) networks of Hamas, Taliban, Al-Qaeda." In 2017, Trump himself correctly stated, "The nation of Qatar, unfortunately, has historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level." Trump acknowledged this week that Qatar essentially acts as a mouthpiece for the Islamic Republic of Iran. All of which is why the United States ought not be taking Trojan Horse jets from them — and why the United States ought to be treating Qatar with extreme skepticism at best. Qatar is not giving gifts because Qatar is a kind and generous Middle Eastern Santa Clause. They're doing it because they expect something in return. And what they expect won't be good for either the United States or any of our real allies. Beware Qataris bearing jets.