US Democrats examine reports of funding for Trump Jr.’s parties
Democrats in the US Congress have launched a review of reports that Russian businessman Umar Kremlev paid for two post-wedding parties for Donald Trump Jr. and his wife Bettina in the Bahamas in May. ABC News Australia reports.
Reports of funding
According to ProPublica, Kremlev, president of the International Boxing Association, spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on lavish post-wedding events. In an Instagram post, Bettina Trump called the businessman a family friend and said that he had given an “extraordinarily generous wedding gift.” She stressed that this involved paying for two parties after the wedding, rather than the wedding ceremony itself.
A representative of Donald Trump Jr. declined to comment. Kremlev and the International Boxing Association did not respond to journalists’ inquiries. US President Donald Trump, who did not attend his son’s wedding, said he did not know Kremlev and called the controversy surrounding the celebrations “not a big deal.”
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Democrats’ reaction
Robert Garcia, the senior Democrat on the US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, asked what Kremlev expects in return for funding the three-day celebration. According to ABC News Australia, Kremlev is linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the authorities of the Russian Federation — an aggressor state.
Garcia could lead the committee if Democrats win a majority in the House of Representatives in the midterm elections in November. US Attorney General Todd Blanche said he would not investigate a possible conflict of interest. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called the arrangement corrupt and said that, in his view, it poses a risk to national security.
