Opposition Filed Against DOJ Effort to Strike Context from Complaint About Qatar’s ‘Gifted’ Jet to Trump Administration

On Friday, the Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF), represented by American Oversight, filed its opposition to the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) motion to strike important context from its complaint seeking the release of a memorandum possibly used as legal cover for the Trump administration to accept a $400 million jet from the Qatari government.

As the Trump administration refuses to promptly turn over the DOJ memo despite widespread legal and ethical concerns about the gift, it is asking the court to remove background allegations from the complaint — including citations to public reporting about the controversial arrangement — that underscore the public interest in transparency and why the DOJ’s failure to release the requested document is important.

“The DOJ’s attempt to delete important context from our complaint is as troubling as its attempt to bury its legal memo that should be released to the American people,” said Lauren Harper, Freedom of the Press Foundation’s Daniel Ellsberg chair on government secrecy. “The public deserves to see the full picture — including how a $400 million jet from a foreign government was deemed acceptable by the Trump administration.”

“Instead of releasing the memo that may have provided legal cover to accept a $400 million gift from a foreign government, the Trump administration is trying to strike relevant context from the legal record,” said Chioma Chukwu, Executive Director of American Oversight. “These claims are drawn from public reporting and demonstrate why the DOJ memo matters and why the public has a right to see it as quickly as possible. Trying to erase those details from the complaint is nothing more than another attempt to delay accountability and obscure what really happened.”

The opposition to the DOJ’s motion argues that the challenged paragraphs are directly relevant to the case — including to the question of whether the DOJ must process the FOIA request promptly and potential future disputes about whether the record is unlawfully withheld. Courts, they note, have repeatedly warned that motions to strike are “disfavored” and often used as a “dilatory tactic.”

American Oversight filed the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit on behalf of FPF in July after the DOJ failed to release a May 2025 memo reportedly signed by Attorney General Pam Bondi, who previously lobbied on behalf of the Qatari government. Bondi’s memo purportedly concluded that the Trump administration’s acceptance of the jet was legally permissible. The administration accepted the jet just days later. Calls for transparency have been heightened by the circumstances surrounding the jet deal, including reports that the transaction may have been initiated by the Trump administration, that it followed a lucrative Trump private business arrangement in Qatar, and that the jet will be donated to Trump’s private presidential library foundation after he is no longer in office.

Despite granting expedited processing of FPF’s FOIA request, the DOJ estimated it would take 620 days to produce the single document. After obtaining two extensions of its deadline to respond to the complaint, instead of filing an answer, the government moved to strike factual allegations, arguing that the public record surrounding the jet’s transfer was “immaterial” and “scandalous.” As of today, the DOJ has failed to release any responsive records or provide a further timeline for production.