Utah Republican Sen. John Curtis has turned his back on the GOP and is calling for a congressional investigation into the business dealings of Donald Trump Jr. after a Russian oligarch with close ties to President Vladimir Putin helped pay for a lavish wedding afterparty for the president’s son. Curtis sent a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and Ranking Member Dick Durbin urging the panel to take action.
In the letter, Curtis asked the committee to subpoena both Donald Trump Jr. and Hunter Biden to testify about their foreign business relationships, gifts or benefits received, and any instances where their connection to a sitting president “was invoked or understood to provide value.” His call applies equally across party lines, covering the sons of both a Republican and a Democratic president.
Curtis Calls Trump Jr. Party Arrangement Corruption
ProPublica first reported that Umar Kremlev, head of the International Boxing Association and a figure with close ties to Putin, helped cover the cost of renting a private island and a fireworks show when Donald Trump Jr. married socialite Bettina Anderson in the Bahamas in May. In a post on her Instagram account signed by the couple, Bettina Trump described Kremlev as a “dear friend” who “very generously hosted two incredible nights of celebrations for us AFTER our wedding.” President Trump, who did not attend the wedding, defended Kremlev’s involvement and said the money would be paid back.
Curtis did not mince words about what he believes the arrangement represents. “A Russian oligarch paid for a lavish wedding after-party for Donald Trump Jr., which to me just stinks. It’s corruption. I don’t like it,” Curtis said in a video posted to his X account. He drew a direct parallel to years of Republican scrutiny applied to Hunter Biden, writing, “Republicans nearly wore out the subpoena machine investigating Hunter Biden’s foreign relationships. We should not unplug it now. ‘Trust us’ was not enough then, and it is not enough now.”
According to Curtis letter on Trump Jr. foreign ties, Curtis also flagged Donald Trump Jr.’s financial and advisory ties to prediction markets regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, his promotion of family-backed cryptocurrency ventures, international real estate deals involving foreign heads of state, and investments in defense contracting.
The Biden Precedent Curtis Cites
House Republicans spent much of 2023 and 2024 investigating Hunter Biden over allegations that he used his father’s name and political position to benefit foreign business dealings, including interests in China and Ukraine. That effort produced a report accusing Joe Biden of participating in a conspiracy to enrich his family, though the House never voted on articles of impeachment. The Biden family denied wrongdoing and called the inquiries politically motivated.
Curtis acknowledged the complexities of the earlier investigation while arguing consistency demands the same standard now. “The country should not have to accept one standard for the family of a Republican president and another for the family of a Democratic president. Nor should congressional oversight begin and end when control of the White House changes hands,” he wrote. He also raised national security concerns, warning that foreign relationships with presidential family members “could even create national security vulnerabilities.”
What Curtis Is Asking Congress to Do Next
Curtis outlined a clear scope for the inquiry in his letter to Grassley and Durbin. “The purpose of such an inquiry should be straightforward: establish the facts, determine whether existing ethics, disclosure, or anti-corruption laws apply, and identify reforms necessary to prevent the presidency from becoming a vehicle for private enrichment by those closest to it,” he wrote.
Whether the Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee will act on Curtis’s request remains to be seen. Grassley and Durbin have not yet publicly responded to the letter. Curtis’s call for equal treatment of both presidential families puts pressure on committee leadership to decide whether oversight of presidential relatives will be applied uniformly, regardless of party affiliation.
