Republican Sen. John Curtis called for testimony from Donald Trump Jr. this week, following reports that a Russian oligarch linked to President Vladimir Putin bankrolled part of the first son’s lavish wedding weekend in the Bahamas.
He also wants to hear from Hunter Biden, the son of former President Joe Biden, who has been a target of Republicans for years over “influence peddling” allegations.
The Utah Republican requested the investigation in a letter to Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Dick Durbin (D-Illinois), the leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee, saying “serious questions” have been raised in recent years about members of presidential families using their status for private financial gain.
Curtis’ letter was sent on the heels of a report by investigative outlet ProPublica that Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev, an ally of Putin, bankrolled Trump Jr.’s wedding celebrations by renting out private islands in the Bahamas and paying for a fireworks display. Curtis also referenced Trump Jr.’s cryptocurrency ventures and international real estate deals, as well as Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings that raised concerns during his father’s time as vice president and president.
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The reports, Curtis said, raise “legitimate questions” about foreign access to presidential families and whether such relationships “can create actual or perceived expectations of favorable treatment.” Curtis added that the relationships “may create expectations of a returned favor” that would not be in the “best interests of the American people or our allies,” would impact trust in government and potentially create national security vulnerabilities.
“Americans deserve confidence that public institutions serve them—not presidents, political parties, wealthy interests, or members of powerful families,” Curtis wrote. “Congress has an obligation to pursue credible concerns wherever they lead and without regard to party.”
Curtis, who succeeded former Sen. Mitt Romney in 2025, has broken with President Donald Trump on various issues to uphold what the lawmaker calls his “pioneer values.”
The White House and Hunter Biden did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The goal of the inquiry, Curtis wrote, would be to “establish the facts, determine whether existing ethics, disclosure, or anti-corruption laws apply, and identify reforms necessary to prevent the presidency from becoming a vehicle for private enrichment by those closest to it.”
President Donald Trump said last week that Trump Jr., who has acknowledged Kremlev’s role, would repay the oligarch for the wedding celebrations.
Trump Jr.’s wife, Bettina Anderson, called Kremlev’s largessse an “extraordinarily generous wedding gift” that she argued does not represent a conflict of interest.
Hunter Biden has also maintained that his father had no involvement in his business dealings.
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