“A toaster is a wedding gift. A private-island party paid for by a Putin-connected oligarch is something else,” Utah Sen. John Curtis said
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/bettina-donald-trump-jr-putin-Kremlev-092226-f13e64ca055044e9b04a29ba5b7d2fde.jpg "Donald Trump Jr. and wife Bettina Anderson; Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) greets the president of the International Boxing Association Umar Kremlev (Kremlyov) (R) during the meeting with national boxing team at Kremlin on April 22, 2026 in Moscow, Russia.")
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NEED TO KNOW
- A conservative Republican senator called for a powerful Senate committee to subpoena President Donald Trump’s eldest son on Tuesday, Sept. 22
- The scrutiny comes after Donald Trump Jr. and his wife Bettina Anderson Trump confirmed that a boxing promoter close to President Vladimir Putin helped fund their lavish post-wedding celebration in the Bahamas
- Utah Sen. John Curtis contrasted the years-long scrutiny of Hunter Biden’s business dealings with the lack of congressional oversight of Donald Jr.’s businesses and connections
A conservative Republican senator called for a powerful Senate committee to subpoena President Donald Trump‘s eldest son after Donald Trump Jr. and his wife Bettina Anderson Trump confirmed that a boxing promoter close to President Vladimir Putin helped fund their lavish post-wedding celebration in the Bahamas.
“A toaster is a wedding gift. A private-island party paid for by a Putin-connected oligarch is something else,” Utah Sen. John Curtis wrote on X on Tuesday, Sept. 22. “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,” Curtis, 66, added.
A toaster is a wedding gift. A private-island party paid for by a Putin-connected oligarch is something else. 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… pic.twitter.com/dcWqUO6e2X
— Senator John Curtis (@SenJohnCurtis) September 22, 2026
In his letter to Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, the GOP chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the committee’s top Democrat, Curtis contrasted the years-long scrutiny of Hunter Biden‘s business dealings with the lack of congressional oversight of Donald Jr.’s businesses and connections.
“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 in the letter published on Tuesday. “Americans deserve confidence that public institutions serve them—not presidents, political parties, wealthy interests, or members of powerful families.”
Credit: Mandel NGAN / AFP via Getty
In the letter, Curtis called on the Senate Judiciary Committee to subpoena Donald Jr., 48, and Biden “regarding their past business dealings, relationships with foreign individuals and entities, gifts, or other benefits they have received, and any instances in which their relationship to the President was invoked or understood to provide value.”
Representatives for the White House and Donald Jr. did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. A representative for Biden referred PEOPLE to his post on X.
“Sen. Curtis of Utah has suggested that Don Jr. and I should testify before Congress. I say bring it on. I’ve already given more than seven hours of sworn testimony. More than three dozen witnesses testified across two chambers,” Biden, 56, wrote on Tuesday afternoon. “I had no foreign business dealings while my father was president. None. I painted paintings, and I still do.”
“I’ll sit next to Don Jr. and testify any time, any place. Eric and Jared can join us too. No need for a subpoena. Let’s all do it tomorrow,” he continued.
Sen. Curtis of Utah has suggested that Don Jr. and I should testify before Congress.
— Hunter Biden (@HunterBiden) September 22, 2026
I say bring it on. I've already given more than seven hours of sworn testimony. More than three dozen witnesses testified across two chambers.
I had no foreign business dealings while my…
“In fairness, Hunter Biden has already given Congress a sworn deposition on this issue,” Durbin, 81, wrote on X. “Donald Trump Jr. has not. To ignore this is to run the risk of being complicit. I will join in supporting Senator Curtis’ request of the Judiciary Committee.”
Grassley’s office did not immediately respond to an inquiry from PEOPLE about Curtis’ letter.
Credit: Bettina Trump/Instagram
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On Sept. 14, ProPublica published a report detailing the relationship between Donald Jr. and Umar Kremlev, the head of the International Boxing Association and an associate of Putin. The report detailed hundreds of thousands of dollars Kremlev allegedly spent on a May weekend in the Bahamas to celebrate Donald Jr. and Bettina’s wedding.
After the report was published, Bettina, 39, wrote on Instagram that Kremlev was a “dear friend” of the couple and “generously hosted two incredible nights of celebrations for us AFTER our wedding.”
“It was an extraordinarily generous wedding gift from a friend, and something for which we were and remain incredibly grateful,” Bettina wrote in a post signed “with love and gratitude, Don & Bettina.”
Kremlev has no business relationship with Donald Jr., a spokesperson for the U.S. president’s son told ProPublica, adding that the two men met through a mutual friend in the hunting world and bonded over boxing and their passion for the outdoors. The New York Times independently confirmed the report, citing “two people with knowledge of the matter.”
Credit: GAVRIIL GRIGOROV/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty
However, Kremlev — who told ProPublica through his press office that he “has never discussed political matters with any of his American friends and acquaintances” — has direct ties to Putin and met with the Russian president at the Kremlin in Moscow on April 22, wire service photos show.
April 22 was exactly a month before the Bahamas celebration.
Kremlev did not respond to requests for comment from PEOPLE sent through the International Boxing Association on Sept. 14 or Tuesday.
Both President Trump and first lady Melania Trump publicly denied knowing Kremlev or knowing about his involvement in the wedding celebration. The president and the first lady did not attend the wedding ahead of the weekend in the Bahamas.
“It’s totally allowed, and a lot of people have parties and all, but it’s totally allowed. But as I understand it, he paid them back,” Trump, 80, claimed in the Oval Office on Friday, Sept. 18. “I hear he paid him back… I guess a friend of his gave him a wedding party, that’s very common.”
In his letter, Curtis raised questions about Don Jr.’s “lavish wedding afterparty, on a private island, provided by Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev” and noted reports that Kremlev traveled to China at the same time as Putin for the Russian president’s state visit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Credit: Andrew Harnik/Getty
“To me, it just stinks,” Curtis said in a video message to his constituents on Friday, Sept. 18. “It’s corruption, I don’t like it.”
“This is a big deal,” the senator added.
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