Former Qatar Lobbyist Bondi Approves $400M Qatari Plane Gift to Trump

On May 14, 2025, Attorney General Pam Bondi personally signed a DOJ Office of Legal Counsel memo concluding it was legally permissible for President Trump to accept a Boeing 747-8 aircraft valued at approximately $400 million as a gift from the government of Qatar, ruling it did not violate the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause.

Before becoming AG, Bondi had worked as a lobbyist at Ballard Partners, where the government of Qatar was among her clients. Ballard Partners received $115,000 per month for Qatar lobbying, with Bondi personally earning a portion.

The conflict of interest was stark: the nation’s top law enforcement official—whose job included interpreting constitutional restrictions on foreign gifts to the president—was ruling in favor of a gift from her own former client to her boss.

Industry experts estimated the plane’s actual market value at closer to $200 million, though the $400 million figure was widely reported. Regardless of valuation, it represented the largest known foreign gift to a sitting U.S. president.

The approval demonstrated how the revolving door between lobbying and government service could be weaponized: a former foreign government lobbyist, installed as Attorney General through personal loyalty to the president, used her legal authority to approve a massive gift from that same foreign government to the president who appointed her.