Washington, D.C. — Donald Trump Jr.’s lavish Bahamas wedding was secretly financed by a Russian oligarch with direct ties to Vladimir Putin, ProPublica revealed today. Umar Kremlev, a recent recipient of Putin’s Order of Friendship, covered hundreds of thousands of dollars in wedding expenses, including a private island rental and a fireworks show, funneled through a Dubai entity tied to his organization. Kremlev brought a large contingent of Russian guests to the wedding, several with ties to Russian state security and defense industries, and appears to have met Trump Jr. only recently.
The president’s son accepted an extraordinarily expensive gift from a Putin-linked oligarch while his father’s administration negotiates directly with Russia over Ukraine. Under the previous administration, Mike Johnson, James Comer, and Jim Jordan spent years hunting for foreign influence scandals wherever they could invent them. Now, the Kremlin has a direct financial relationship with the president’s family. It’s sitting in plain sight, and it’s exactly the kind of case Congress exists to investigate.
In response, Congressional Integrity Project Senior Adviser Jeremy Funk released the following statement:
“Umar Kremlev didn’t fly to the Bahamas and rent out a private island out of the goodness of his heart. Everyone knows Vladimir Putin’s inner circle doesn’t give anything away for free, but Mike Johnson, James Comer, and Jim Jordan have their heads in the sand. They won’t lift a finger to find out what Kremlev bought himself, because right now their only job is protecting the Trump family at all costs. Once actual adults are back in charge of Congress next year, they will hold the hearings Republicans are too scared to hold, and the American people will finally get the answers this administration is desperate to bury.”
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