RELATIVE SCRUTINY

Republican Senator Breaks Ranks to Demand Don Jr. Subpoena

Sen. John Curtis of Utah wants the president’s son hauled before Congress.

A Republican senator is demanding Donald Trump Jr. be subpoenaed over his foreign business dealings and gifts from overseas figures.

Sen. John Curtis of Utah called on the Senate Judiciary Committee to investigate the president’s eldest son in a letter sent Monday to the committee’s Republican chairman, Chuck Grassley, and ranking Democrat Dick Durbin. Curtis wants Trump Jr. compelled to testify about his business dealings, foreign relationships, gifts and other benefits he has received.

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The extraordinary request puts Curtis, 66, at odds with members of his own party, on an issue the Democrats are already pursuing.

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It follows revelations that Umar Kremlev, a Russian oligarch with close ties to Vladimir Putin, spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on celebrations surrounding Trump Jr.’s May wedding to Bettina Anderson in the Bahamas. His gift included renting a private island and paying for a fireworks display, as ProPublica first reported.

The couple subsequently acknowledged Kremlev hosted two nights of festivities, while President Donald Trump said Friday that his son planned to reimburse him.

But Curtis makes clear in his letter that his concerns go well beyond the wedding. He also cites Trump Jr.’s involvement in his family’s cryptocurrency ventures, overseas property projects involving foreign leaders, defense investments, and his advisory roles with rival prediction-market companies Kalshi and Polymarket.

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He said the relationships raise questions about whether foreign figures could gain access to a president’s family or expect favorable treatment in return.

Curtis, who took over Mitt Romney’s Senate seat at the last election, is also seeking testimony from former President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter.

His letter cites Hunter Biden’s business dealings in China and Ukraine and the long-running dispute over whether his father’s political position helped him commercially.

“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,” Curtis wrote. “Nor should congressional oversight begin and end when control of the White House changes hands.”

Curtis specifically asked Grassley’s committee to examine whether presidential relatives have used their family connections to secure money, special treatment or access, and whether current ethics, disclosure and anti-corruption laws are sufficient.

House Oversight Committee ranking member Robert Garcia opened an investigation into Trump Jr.’s relationship with Kremlev last week and requested financial and other records relating to the wedding arrangement.

The Daily Beast has contacted Trump Jr. for comment.

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