Democrat Adam Schiff presses the DOD Inspector General for more details on the gift of Trump’s Qatari plane

Senator Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Asks that the office of the Inspector General of the Ministry of Defense launches an investigation into the role of the ministry in “facilitating and serving as a passage” so that the Trump administration accepts a luxury jet given by the Qatari government to use as Force One, 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 it a “very public and transparent transaction” with the Ministry of Defense.

In a letter sent on Tuesday, also signed by the head of the Senate minority, Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., and the member of the Senate of Armed Services, Jack Reed, Dr.I., as well as six other Senate Democrats, Schiff raised to the interim inspector general, Steven Stebbins.

“Public reports raise the disturbing perspective according to which the administration involved the DOD for (1) to wash this unacceptable gift, so that the ministry can provide coverage to give the transfer of the aircraft the appearance of an official gift; (2) place the UNUS on the DOD to remedy the plane at considerable costs to American taxpayers; and (3) Is the transfer stretched in the Library Term for continuous use in personal capacity, “the president’s library.

The Democrats asked Stebbins to launch an investigation into DOD’s participation to facilitate the transfer of potential foreign gifts and asked for a “complete audit and survey” on any “fraud, waste and abuse” when a potential transfer is completed, given that a compulsory modernization of the plane should occur if it were to be used as a force Air Force. They also said that the Trump administration is bypassed by the Congress railings by accepting the foreign gift.

“The risks of the DOD were involved in a cheeky attempt to escape the constitutional limitations of the acceptance of personal gifts from foreign governments without the approval of the congress,” they continued in his letter.

The letter also requested “in classified form if necessary”, the cost estimate and the probable calendar for the renovation and installation of communications and other equipment necessary to meet the safety and counter-espionage requirements for the Air Force One fleet and any calendar that the White House dictated for this plane to be used by Trump.

They also asked if the necessary changes could be made within such a delay to meet the standards of the Air Force One and what possible risks could be associated with this calendar. In addition, they asked for answers on the question of whether the contract existing for other Air Force One planes will continue or will be terminated and what would be the cost of any termination.

The last request is whether there would be risks of counterintelligence and security in the integration of this plane, provided by a foreign government, in the Fleet of Air Force One.

“The DOD OIG received the letter this afternoon and we examine it,” said spokesperson for the Pentagon Office of Inspector General, Mollie Halpern, in a statement.

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

Senate’s sub-comity of credits to the member of the Defense ranking Chris Coons, d-Del., And meaning. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Tammy Duckworth, D-ill., Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, Brian Shatz, D-Hawaii and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Are the other Democrats who have signed the letter from Schiff.

Earlier Tuesday, Schumer sent a separate letter to the Attorney General Pam Bondi expressing his concern about “the appearance of bare corruption” posed by Trump’s reported plans to accept a jet of the Qatari government. Schumer also said that he thought the jet posed a “serious security risk” and quoted the report that Bondi personally signed 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 certain number of questions related to the proposed gifted plane.

Allison Pecorin of ABC News contributed to this report.