PRESIDENT: Cannot accept Qatar plane

So, when will our elected officials do their duty? When they take office, they take the following oath: I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

Article 1, Section 9, Clause 8 of the U.S. Constitution prohibits federal officeholders from accepting any present, emolument (profit, benefit, advantage, or service), office, or title from any foreign state without the consent of Congress. The last time I knew, the president is a federal officeholder. He CANNOT accept the plane from Qatar without consent of Congress! Senator Crapo, Senator Risch, Representative Simpson, and Representative Fulcher, what are you going to do? Do you plan to uphold your oath and NOT approve this gift? If not, you are violating your oath of office. It will be the taxpayers of this country who will pay to upgrade an used airplane (13 years old) which Qatar was not able to sell. If it is NOT good enough for their leader, why should it be good enough for our leader? How much of Medicaid are you going to cut to pay for the upgrades to this plane?

JUANA PERLEY

Coeur d’Alene