GOP senator demands probe into Trump’s son

Zachary Schermele

USA TODAY

WASHINGTON – A Republican senator is demanding a congressional investigation into one of President Donald Trump’s sons after a Russian oligarch bankrolled his private island wedding party in the Bahamas in May.

The blistering criticism from Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, represented a striking departure from the GOP’s general reluctance to wield its congressional oversight powers to meaningfully scrutinize the president’s family.

Earlier in September, Donald Trump Jr. and his new wife, Bettina, confirmed what they called an 'extraordinarily generous wedding gift' from their 'dear friend' Umar Kremlev, the president of the International Boxing Association, an organization that has been criticized for its ties to the Russian government.

The investigative news outlet ProPublica reported on Sept. 14 that Kremlev spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on wedding-related expenses for the couple, including renting out a private island and footing the bill for a fireworks show.

In a social media post that same day, Bettina Trump denied any impropriety, arguing that 'generosity doesn’t automatically come with an agenda.'

'Sometimes a wedding gift is simply a wedding gift,' she wrote.

Curtis said he was alarmed by the reporting, which he said raised legitimate questions about foreign access to the first family.

In a Sept. 22 letter to the top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, he urged the panel to subpoena Donald Trump Jr. and open a broader probe into 'presidential families’ business dealings,' including those of the Biden family, and their possible leverage by domestic and foreign entities.

'A toaster is a wedding gift,' Curtis said in a statement. 'A private-island party paid for by a Putin-connected oligarch is something else.'

Curtis raised questions about Trump Jr.’s business ventures, including crypto, real estate and prediction market platforms.

'These reports raise legitimate questions about foreign access to members of a sitting president’s family and whether such relationships can create actual or perceived expectations of favorable treatment,' Curtis wrote. 'They also may create expectations of a returned favor that would not be in the best interests of the American people or our allies, and could even create national security vulnerabilities.'

Committee chair Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said he wouldn’t comment before reading Curtis’ letter. Asked why he hadn’t read it yet, he said, 'I just got to town.' Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, said he would leave it to Grassley to determine whether a committee probe or subpoena would be warranted.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, the ranking member of the committee, said he would support the Utah senator’s demand.

'Corruption at the highest levels of our government should never be tolerated,' Durbin said in a statement.

President Trump suggested to reporters on Sept. 18 that his son would pay Kremlev back for the festivities.

'It’s totally allowed,' he said. 'But as I understand it, he paid him back. He didn’t want to have that, so I hear he paid him back.'

Contributing: Reuters

In a recent social media post, Donald Trump Jr.’s wife, Bettina, denied any impropriety.

Kylie Cooper/REUTERS