On Monday, a Republican senator pushed for the Senate Judiciary Committee to issue subpoenas to Donald Trump Jr. and Hunter Biden. The aim is to explore whether either of the two men improperly benefited from their familial ties to the White House.
This request from Sen. John Curtis of Utah marks the first known instance of a GOP lawmaker advocating for a probe into the current president’s family. It follows revelations that Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev funded Donald Trump Jr.’s recent wedding in the Bahamas.
“We shouldn’t hold one standard for the family of a Republican president and a different one for a Democrat,” Curtis noted in his letter to committee leaders Chuck Grassley and Dick Durbin. “Oversight shouldn’t change depending on which party is in power.”
Curtis referenced Trump Jr.’s involvement in various business ventures, such as promoting cryptocurrency projects, pursuing international real estate deals that included meetings with foreign leaders, and reportedly investing in defense contracting. He emphasized the need to investigate the potential use of familial connections to the presidency for personal financial gain or preferential treatment from both domestic and international interests.
According to Curtis, the subpoenas would require Trump Jr. and Hunter Biden to clarify their previous business activities, relationships with foreign entities, gifts received, and any occasions where their connection to the President might have been exploited for value.
Since being elected to the Senate in 2024, Curtis has taken a firm stance against the partnership between Trump Jr. and Kremlev, expressing strong disapproval in a social media post last week. “It just stinks to me. This is corruption, and I don’t like it… this is serious,” he remarked.
He later added, “A toaster is a wedding gift. A party on a private island funded by a Putin-linked oligarch is something else. I mean, that’s just different.”
Curtis also pointed out that Republicans had previously utilized extensive inquiries into Hunter Biden’s foreign dealings. “We shouldn’t stop now. ‘Trust us’ wasn’t enough back then, and it isn’t enough now,” he stated.
Reports indicate that Kremlev, a close associate of Vladimir Putin and president of the International Boxing Association, covered various costs related to Trump Jr.’s wedding, including expenses for an additional private island for the celebration and a fireworks display.
Bettina Trump, the bride, defended the arrangement, claiming Kremlev acted purely as a “close friend” when he offered financial support. “Umar generously hosted two amazing nights of celebration for us after our wedding. It was a profoundly generous gift from a friend, for which we are incredibly thankful,” she shared on Instagram.
Although President Trump, First Lady Melania, and their son Barron were absent from the wedding, other family members, including Eric, Ivanka, and Tiffany, attended along with Kremlev and around 50 other guests.
On Friday, regarding the wedding expenses, the president mentioned that Don Jr. had reimbursed Kremlev but did not express any concerns about the situation. “It’s entirely permissible, and many people have parties. I’ve hosted multiple wedding parties. It’s perfectly fine… as far as I understand, Don repaid him,” Trump commented to reporters in the Oval Office.
