Republican senator seeks probe into Trump family, flags son's ‘lavish wedding afterparty, gifts’

Just weeks ahead of the high-stakes midterm elections, Republican Senator John Curtis requested an official investigation into the financial dealings of the Trump family and urged the Senate Judiciary Committee to subpoena Donald Trump Jr. to testify.Utah Senator John Curtis talked about Donald Trump Jr's cryptocurrency ventures and his lavish wedding "afterparty" on a private island funded by a Russian oligarch. (File Photo/Reuter)Utah Senator John Curtis, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), shared the letter addressed to the leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee.Also Read | ‘UN allowed us in, sir’: CNN reporter rebuts Trump after he confronts her in New York amid media banWho is John Curtis?John Curtis is a 66-year-old Republican senator representing Utah. He holds the seat vacated by Republican Mitt Romney.Curtis is a freshman senator and is a key moderate voice among Senate Republicans, as reported by Bloomberg.While other Republican senators have criticised US President Donald Trump over the war with Iran or other policy stances, Curtis is the first sitting senator of the party to seek an investigation into whether Trump or his family has used the presidency for personal gain, the report added.Curtis' move comes as Congressional Republicans head towards the November 3.In a video posted on X last Friday, the senator had also talked about Trump Jr.'s wedding afterparty.Also Read | Trump praises NATO on 5% defence spending push: ‘Greater protection for them’Investigation, testimony, and more - What Curtis demands in letterIn his letter, released on Tuesday, the Utah Senator asked the Judiciary Committee leadership to examine how presidential relationships are used "for private financial benefit, preferential treatment, or access by domestic and foreign interests.""For years, serious questions have been raised about members of presidential families using their names and proximity to the President to advance private business interests," he wrote.He talked about Trump Jr's cryptocurrency ventures and his lavish wedding "afterparty" on a private island funded by a Russian oligarch.The senator added, "More recently, questions have arisen about the relationships of President Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., with foreign business figures and the acceptance of significant gifts. These include a lavish wedding afterparty, on a private island, provided by Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev, who reportedly traveled to China as part of a delegation accompanying Vladimir Putin shortly before giving the gift."Notably, according to the Bloomberg report, US President Trump said on Friday that his son would repay the Russian oligarch for the party."These concerns are compounded by Donald Trump Jr.’s active promotion of family-backed cryptocurrency ventures, his continued pursuit of international real estate deals involving direct meetings with foreign heads of state, and his reported investments in defense contracting," Curtis said.Curtis also wrote about the controversy over how former President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden had significant business ties to foreign interests while his father was serving or running for office."I urge the Committee to subpoena Donald Trump Jr. and Hunter Biden to testify 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," Curtis wrote in the letter."Americans deserve confidence that public institutions serve them—not presidents, political parties, wealthy interests, or members of powerful families. Congress has an obligation to pursue credible concerns wherever they lead and without regard to party," he added.Also Read | Who is Umar Kremlev? Why Putin ally paid for Trump Jr, Bettina Anderson's wedding bash? Relationship, costs explainedWill a hearing take place soon?According to the Bloomberg report, a spokesperson for the Judiciary Committee said that while the Senator's letter has been received, the committee has limited dates to hold hearings for the rest of the year.The spokesperson also noted that investigative hearings often take months or years before being scheduled.(with inputs from Bloomberg)