
Democrat sends letter to White House over Trump Jr wedding bankrolled by Russian oligarch
Robert Garcia expresses concern over âÂÂany possible foreign entanglementâ between White House and Umar Kremlev
Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, is investigating potential ties between the White House and a Russian oligarch who paid for a portion of Donald Trump JrâÂÂs wedding.
In a letter sent to Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff, on Monday, Garcia expressed concern about âÂÂany possible foreign entanglementâ between the presidentâÂÂs son and the oligarch, Umar Kremlev. Garcia asked Wiles to provide documents, records and communications between the White House and Trump Jr about Kremlev, among other requests.
âÂÂAs the son of President Donald Trump and the part-owner and major investor of multiple companies with extensive Department of Defense contracts, any apparent ties to members of Russian President Vladimir PutinâÂÂs inner circle raises serious questions about pay-to-play schemes and foreign intelligence infiltration of the PresidentâÂÂs family,â Garcia wrote in the letter.
In a separate letter addressed to Trump Jr, Garcia expressed similar worries and asked the presidentâÂÂs son to provide more details about his wedding events bankrolled by Kremlev, including: all dates of communication between Trump Jr and Kremlev, any communications Trump Jr may have had with the White House about Kremlev, financial records of purchases made by foreign nationals and a complete list of wedding gifts from foreign nationals.
It came just hours after ProPublica revealed that the Kremlev spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on wedding celebrations for Trump Jr and his wife, Bettina, earlier this year. The couple also confirmed KremlevâÂÂs financial involvement on Monday.
âÂÂI have no idea who Umar is, never heard of him, and he didnâÂÂt pay for Don and BettinaâÂÂs wedding, which took place at a totally different location, and on a different day from the wedding. It was an âÂÂafterpartyâ given in their honor. Not a big deal! I was not present at the party,â the US president said in a statement in response to the report.
âÂÂWhy did a Russian oligarch close to Putin fund Trump Jr.âÂÂs wedding in the Bahamas?â Garcia wrote on X after the ProPublica report was published.
Garcia added: âÂÂUmar Kremlev spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the PresidentâÂÂs son. What did he get in return? We need answers.âÂÂ
Axios was the first to report on GarciaâÂÂs letter.
The investigation into Trump JrâÂÂs wedding is part of the House Oversight Committee Democratsâ larger investigation into the ways the Trump family has allegedly enriched themselves since President Donald Trump took office last year.
The Guardian reached out to GarciaâÂÂs office and the White House for further comment.
