The mounting criticism over President Donald Trump’s acceptance of a luxury plane from the Qatari government continued Wednesday as CNN’s Elie Honig revealed that a group of Republican lawmakers are quietly growing uncomfortable with the increased scrutiny.
“It's up to Congress,” Honig said Wednesday as he dismissed Attorney General Pam Bondi’s announcement that the gift didn’t violate any laws. “And I think that may be why you're seeing this hesitation and pushback from congressional Republicans.”
Appearing on “The Arena,” the CNN legal analyst added that while the Constitution’s “rarely invoked emoluments clause” prohibits a federal official from accepting a gift from a foreign government, he noted an exception.
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“Congress actually can vote to allow it,” he told host Kasie Hunt. “And so I think that may be why you’re seeing some unease from members of Congress, because now it's fair game for you, Kasie, or anyone else to ask these members, ‘Hey, if this comes up, are you going to vote yes or no on allowing the president to take this plane from Qatar?'"
“'I didn't see the tweet' is not really going to work in this scenario,” Hunt joked.
Conservative pro-Trump commentator Scott Jennings defended Trump’s acceptance of the plane, which was once owned by Qatar’s royal family, and which experts have said would likely leave American taxpayers on the hook for millions.
“It's not like we're not already in bed with the people in Qatar, like it or not,” Jennings told a CNN panel Wednesday.
