Owner of Trump’s Qatari Air Force One Linked to Bob Menendez Corruption Scandal

The owner of the Qatari plane that may soon serve as President Donald Trump’s Air Force One, Qatari royal and former prime minister Hamad bin Jassim al Thani (HBJ), is linked to the bribery case involving former senator Bob Menendez.

HBJ uses jets with tail numbers P4-HBJ and A7-HJJ. The former is the plane set to be handed over to Trump and was pictured in photographs taken when Trump toured the jet in February. The Washington Free Beacon identified both P4-HBJ and A7-HJJ as HBJ’s planes by reviewing flight details and the former Qatari prime minister’s social media posts. Over a period of several years, HBJ and one of the two planes are in the same place.

Flight records and public documents the Free Beacon reviewed suggest a close connection between HBJ and the Menendez corruption scandal. When prosecutors unveiled a Menendez indictment in March 2024, they noted that the former senator had received gifts from a "Qatari Investment Company." The New York Times identified the company as Heritage Advisors, a firm founded by a member of the Qatari royal family, Sheikh Sultan bin Jassim al Thani, whom a source familiar identified as an HBJ confidant and business partner.

Menendez took the gifts in exchange for facilitating a multimillion-dollar Heritage Advisors investment in a New Jersey real estate project and at one point Googled—after a 2021 trip to Qatar—"how much is one kilo of gold worth," the indictment states.

Among the gifts Heritage Advisors gave Menendez and his wife were "four tickets for the 2023 Formula One Grand Prix race held in Miami" on May 7, 2023. Flight records reviewed by the Free Beacon indicate that one of HBJ’s jets was in Miami at the same time. The plane with tail numbers A7-HJJ arrived in Miami on May 4 and left on May 7 after the race ended.

Social media posts and flight tracking information show HBJ’s use of P4-HBJ, the plane on offer to President Trump. That plane traveled from Doha to Marrakesh on April 11, 2024, and from Marrakesh to Paris on May 5, 2024. HBJ posted a photo on Instagram in Marrakesh on April 24 and another photo in Paris on May 10.

HBJ attended his son’s graduation in London on August 1, 2024, according to an Instagram post. P4-HBJ traveled from New York to London on July 29 and from London to Nice the night of August 1.

While P4-HBJ is currently registered with charter company Global Jet Isle of Man, an official with the company told the New York Times that he "could not disclose the current owner, but that it is privately owned and not available for charters."

The same methods show HBJ’s use of A7-HJJ, the plane that landed in Miami ahead of the Menendez-linked Formula One Grand Prix. HBJ posted a photo on Instagram on December 7, 2024, at a wedding in Doha. Flight records show A7-HJJ arriving in Doha on December 5 and leaving for Paris on December 7. HBJ also shared a photo of Ramadan celebrations in Doha on March 10, 2025. A7-HJJ arrived in Doha on March 7 and left for Cairo on March 23, flight records demonstrate.

Despite Trump’s willingness to accept a plane from HBJ, he has previously considered taking action against the former prime minister. As the Free Beacon reported in March, the Trump administration has weighed sanctioning HBJ, among other members of the Qatari royal family, over the Gulf state’s involvement in pro-Hamas protests on American soil.

It was during HBJ’s time as prime minister when the Gulf state began hosting Hamas leaders, supported Salafi jihadist movements during the Arab Spring, and allegedly funneled $15 million to terrorist groups in North Africa.

In 2012, at the tail end of HBJ’s tenure atop Qatar’s government—and while HBJ ran the country’s sovereign wealth fund—the country’s emir pledged $400 million in support to Hamas.

Foundation for Defense of Democracies executive director Jonathan Schanzer told the Free Beacon that HBJ used his perch as prime minister to become one of the world's most prolific backers of terrorism.

"HBJ was a straight-up terrorist financier and a war criminal," Schanzer said. "If the wings on this plane had ears, they would have endless anecdotes to share about the Qatari support for Hamas, al Qaeda, the Taliban, Islamic State, Muslim Brotherhood, and more. President Trump may not be aware of the history of this plane. But the entire region knows what the Qataris were up to when HBJ held office."

The White House did not respond to a Free Beacon request for comment.

HBJ is also involved in a RICO case in which a hotelier who did business with the family has claimed that HBJ and other Qatari royals engaged in a multi-year fraud against him. A complaint against the family alleges that HBJ used Quintet Private Bank to steal money from the Qatari government, hide illicit activities, and con former business partners.

"Between 2013 and 2017, at least a dozen transactions involving accounts opened in Quintet’s books were flagged as suspicious by United States authorities under anti-money laundering rules and on the basis of suspicious activity reports filed by United States banks through which the transactions were processed," the complaint reads.

HBJ and his immediate family have a reputation for graft within Qatar. In a leaked audio recording, former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak asserted that HBJ is known within the royal family as the "Thief of Doha," owing to his penchant for stealing from public sources.

HBJ also presided over Qatar’s bid for the 2022 World Cup, which the Department of Justice has since found included bribes for FIFA officials to secure the right to host the tournament. During stadium construction—run by an Al Thani family company—migrants faced discrimination, wage theft, and dangerous working conditions described as "forced labor." A reported 6,500 migrant workers died during stadium construction ahead of the World Cup.

Charles Asher Small, executive director of the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy, told the Free Beacon that Qatar presents a legitimate national security threat.

"It is vital that the United States remain clear-eyed about the nature of the Qatari regime and the existential threat it poses to the values, institutions, and security of the democratic world," he said. "Qatar is not merely a ‘neutral ally’—it is one of the foremost political and financial sponsors of terrorism on the planet, openly backing organizations like Hamas and al Qaeda responsible for the slaughter of civilians, including Americans."

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