Gov. Gavin Newsom accused President Donald Trump of corruption on Saturday, calling his Qatari-donated jet “Air Fraud One,” a day after the administration subpoenaed four The New York Times journalists over a report on the aircraft’s security gaps.
Corruption Charge Ties to NYT
Newsom wrote on X that Trump has spent hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars on the jet, adding that he considers Trump “the most corrupt president in American history.”
Newsom’s “Air Fraud One” remark was not a new phrase. His press office had already used the term on Jul. 2 in response to a post by White House Communications Director Steven Cheung that included photos of the jet’s interior.
The self-described “social liberal and a fiscal watchdog” remarks followed subpoenas issued to reporters Julian Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager and Eric Schmitt, The New York Times reported on Saturday.
The White House is yet to respond to Benzinga’s request for a comment.
According to the report, the reporters must testify before a Manhattan grand jury on next Wednesday over their coverage of security gaps in the Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA) 747-8 aircraft, which lacks antimissile features present on the older Air Force One.
David McCraw, the Times’s top newsroom lawyer, said federal agents appearing at reporters’ homes “should shock the conscience of any American” who values constitutional press freedoms.
FBI Involvement
The reporters did the report on Thursday, citing multiple officials who were briefed on how the jet was retrofitted.
The subpoenas came after FBI Director Kash Patel met with officials at the White House Friday to discuss the bureau’s investigation into disclosures about security concerns with the new plane, The New York Times reported in a separate report on Saturday. President Trump was enraged by the Thursday coverage, the report said.
President Trump used the Qatar-donated presidential aircraft to travel to the NATO summit in Turkey.
Democrats Escalate Criticism Over Jet’s Cost and Safety
Earlier, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called the jet a “national security nightmare” on X, calling Trump’s use of it “shameless self-enrichment” at taxpayers’ expense.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) also criticized the jet on X, calling it part of a broader pattern he described as “the plane, the ballroom, the corruption.”
Photo Courtesy: Sheila Fitzgerald on Shuttertsock.com
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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