Democrats in Congress are demanding answers after a report that a Russian oligarch close to Vladimir Putin paid for part of Donald Trump Jr.'s three-day wedding celebration in the Bahamas in May.
"Umar Kremlev spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the President's son. What did he get in return? We need answers," Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., wrote on X. Garcia is the ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
ProPublica reported Sept. 14 that Kremlev covered hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses, citing records it reviewed and interviews with three people familiar with the event. The expenses included renting one of the two private islands where the festivities were held, as well as a fireworks show. The celebration also featured a five-tier cake airlifted in from Florida.
Rep. Mike Levin, D-Calif., questioned why the president's son would accept the money. "Why would Don Jr., supposedly worth $300 million, let a Kremlin insider pick up the tab?" he wrote on X.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., spoke to MeidasTouch's Pablo Manríquez on Monday. "These guys are in the pocket of everyone but the American people," she said. "This administration … they are selling out every single person in this country for a buck, and it's disgusting. And for what? To have a couple of extra frills at your wedding?"
Kremlev is president of the International Boxing Association, which has been financed by Russian state-owned energy company Gazprom. The wedding payments came from a Dubai-based entity the IBA uses for financial transactions, ProPublica reported. In the days before the wedding, Kremlev traveled to China as part of Putin's delegation, according to Chinese state media.
National security experts also raised concerns about the arrangement.
"If I'm paying for your wedding, at some point, you're going to owe me something," Frank Montoya Jr., a retired FBI official who held senior counterintelligence roles, told ProPublica. "This should be unthinkable for the son of the president. End of story."
Holden Triplett served as counterintelligence director on the National Security Council during Trump's first term. He told ProPublica that Russian intelligence frequently seeks to build ties with U.S. officials and their families. "Money is a tried-and-true method to gain access," he said.
A spokesperson for Trump Jr. did not dispute the payments. "Umar is a personal friend of Don," the spokesperson told ProPublica. The spokesperson added that the two men do not have a business relationship.
In a statement posted to Instagram, Trump Jr. and his wife, Bettina Trump, confirmed Kremlev's role. They said he hosted two nights of celebrations after a private ceremony attended only by family. "It was an extraordinarily generous wedding gift from a friend," they wrote.
President Trump initially dismissed the report. In a statement shared by the White House, he said he had never heard of Kremlev and called the party "not a big deal." On Sept. 18, he told reporters in the Oval Office that his son had repaid Kremlev, the New York Post reported.
"A person that he knows, I guess a friend of his, gave him a wedding party — that's very common," Trump said.
