The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee is investigating a Russian oligarch’s reported financial involvement in a celebration tied to Donald Trump Jr.’s wedding.
Axios reported that Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) sent letters to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and to Trump Jr. himself seeking documents related to Umar Kremlev, the Russia-based president of the International Boxing Association, who ProPublica revealed had bankrolled hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses for a May party in the Bahamas connected to the wedding.
“Oversight Democrats are investigating the numerous ways in which the Trump family have sought to enrich themselves on the basis of their proximity to President Donald Trump,” Garcia wrote to Wiles. In his letter to Trump Jr., Garcia said ProPublica’s reporting “may be the most serious allegation against you to date.”
Kremlev, whose boxing organization is financed by Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom and who has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, paid for one of two private islands used for the event and a fireworks display, according to ProPublica, despite Trump Jr.’s estimated $300 million net worth.
A spokesperson for President Donald Trump’s eldest son did not dispute the payments, telling ProPublica that Kremlev is “a personal friend” but “not someone he has a business relationship with.”
Kremlev’s press office said the two have had “a friendly relationship” for a couple of years and that Kremlev has never discussed politics with his American friends.
Trump Jr.’s wife, Bettina Anderson, wrote on Instagram that it was “unfortunate that something so personal and happy can be recast as something political or sinister.”
The president told Axios he has “no idea who Umar is” and said the Kremlev-funded gathering was a separate afterparty he did not attend.
Garcia is asking the White House to turn over all communications concerning Kremlev, and is pressing Trump Jr. for a full guest list, records of his contact with Kremlev, any communications with intelligence officials about him and documentation of gifts or purchases made by foreign nationals.
As the Oversight Committee’s ranking member, Garcia can currently only make voluntary requests for information from the administration and the Trump family.
That would change if Democrats retake the House majority in next year’s midterms, handing him subpoena power as committee chairman.
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