CNN
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The Justice Department’s internal legal advisers cleared a memo signed by Attorney General Pam Bondi endorsing the legality of President Donald Trump accepting a 747-8 luxury jet from Qatar, a DOJ official said Wednesday.
The Office of Legal Counsel approved the memo before Bondi signed it and sent it to the White House, a Justice Department official told CNN. Bondi, who previously lobbied on behalf of the Qatari government, also consulted with career ethics officials, the official said, who determined there was no conflict that would require her recusal.
DOJ’s acknowledgment of Bondi’s memo and the process behind it comes as the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee sent a letter demanding answers from the Justice Department about the memo that reportedly said it was OK for Qatar to gift the plane to the Department of Defense and then transfer it to the Trump Presidential Library Foundation.
“There are serious questions about whether you should have recused yourself from this matter,” Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin said in a letter to the attorney general, adding that Bondi committed to “consult with the career ethics officials within the Department” if matters involving Qatar arose.
The Justice Department told CNN it has received Durbin’s letter.
Durbin is the latest Democratic lawmaker to demand answers from the Trump administration on the multimillion-dollar gift. On Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he was placing a blanket hold on all Justice Department political nominees until he got answers related to the jet.
Some Republican senators have also expressed concerns over Trump’s plan to accept the luxury jet, saying that the administration should ensure that the gift will pass legal muster.
