The U.S. attorney general refused to investigate a Russian oligarch’s financing of Trump’s son’s wedding
Kyiv • UNN
Todd Blanche said he sees no grounds for investigating the payment for the celebrations of Trump Jr. by Russian national Umar Kremlyov. Democrats in Congress will examine the gift.
U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said that, at present, he does not see anything that the Department of Justice should investigate in connection with Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev’s funding of part of Donald Trump Jr.’s wedding celebrations. Blanche made the statement while speaking with reporters at the White House, ABC News reports, UNN writes.
Details
According to ProPublica, Kremlev, who heads the International Boxing Association (IBA), paid for a significant portion of the expenses for the wedding celebrations of Trump Jr. and Bettina Anderson on a private island in the Bahamas. According to the publication, the expenses included the rental of the island and fireworks. The publication notes that it did not independently verify these details.
The wedding ceremony of Trump Jr. and Anderson took place in May. Afterward, the couple traveled to the Bahamas, where the celebrations were held.
Anderson confirmed that Kremlev paid for part of the post-wedding celebrations, calling it “an extraordinarily generous wedding gift from a friend.” According to her, the ceremony itself was a family affair, while the events in the Bahamas took place after the wedding.
Commenting on the possibility of an investigation, Blanche said that President Donald Trump does not know Kremlev and suggested that other family members are also not acquainted with him.
When you ask whether I am conducting an investigation — what exactly am I supposed to investigate
According to Blanche, Trump Jr. calls Kremlev a close friend. The attorney general himself also said that he had no information confirming a personal connection between him and the Russian businessman or claims that Kremlev is close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
At the same time, the publication reports that Kremlev has ties to the Russian authorities: in 2024, Putin awarded him the Order of Friendship. Kremlev also heads the IBA, which was previously expelled from the Olympic movement over concerns about the organization’s governance and allegations of corruption.
Donald Trump himself said that he did not know Kremlev and that his contribution concerned the post-wedding party, not the wedding ceremony itself. Meanwhile, Democrats in the U.S. Congress said they intended to examine the circumstances of the gift and requested additional information from Trump Jr. and the White House.