Democrat seeks answers on Trump Jr. wedding gift

A top House Democrat is demanding answers after Bettina Anderson, Donald Trump Jr.’s wife, confirmed that Russian businessman Umar Kremlev hosted two nights of post-wedding festivities for the couple in the Bahamas as “an extraordinarily generous wedding gift.”

Anderson posted the statement on Instagram on Monday after ProPublica reported that Kremlev, described as a Russian oligarch close to President Vladimir Putin, had paid hundreds of thousands of dollars toward events surrounding the couple’s May wedding. The report said Kremlev covered the rental of one private island where a reception was held and guests stayed, as well as other large expenses, including a major fireworks show.

“Why did a Russian oligarch close to Putin fund Trump Jr.’s wedding in the Bahamas?” Robert Garcia, the ranking member and lead Democrat on the House oversight committee, wrote on social media. “Umar Kremlev spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the President’s son. What did he get in return? We need answers.”

Anderson said the wedding itself was private and limited to family. She wrote that she and Trump Jr. “got married privately” on May 22 “surrounded ONLY by our family,” and that the weekend that followed had been planned before their wedding arrangements changed.

“The weekend that followed had actually been planned well in advance as a fun weekend with friends,” she wrote. “It was never intended to be our wedding weekend. When our original wedding plans changed, we simply decided to get married before it and arrived at an already planned weekend as newlyweds.”

She added: “Our dear friend Umar very 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.”

Anderson rejected suggestions of an improper motive. “Friendship doesn’t require a political motive,” she wrote, adding that there was “NO CONSPIRACY.” She also wrote: “Generosity doesn’t automatically come with an agenda. And sometimes a wedding gift is simply a wedding gift.”

Kremlev is the head of the International Boxing Association and secretary general of the International Boxing Federation, according to the reports. The Guardian reported that the IBA has been backed by the state-owned Russian energy company Gazprom. ProPublica reported, according to The Guardian, that the wedding payments came from an IBA-affiliated entity in Dubai used by the boxing association for financial transactions.

Kremlev has ties to Putin. The Guardian reported that he traveled to China as part of a delegation accompanying Putin shortly before the wedding events, and that Putin had awarded him Russia’s Order of Friendship the month before. The Ukrainian government has imposed sanctions on Kremlev, citing his closeness to Putin and Russian security services, The Guardian reported.

ProPublica reported, citing records and interviews with three anonymous people familiar with the event, that the celebration stretched across two exclusive private islands and included about 50 guests, most of them immediate family, close friends and business partners of the couple. The wedding ceremony itself reportedly had 18 guests. Kremlev reportedly did not attend the ceremony but was present at the party with a large contingent of Russians.

A spokesperson for Trump Jr. told ProPublica that Kremlev is “a personal friend of Don,” is “not someone he has a business relationship with,” and that the two met through a mutual friend in the hunting world. Kremlev’s press office told ProPublica that he and Trump Jr. “have a friendly relationship,” first met “a couple of years ago” and that Kremlev “has never discussed political matters with any of his American friends and acquaintances.”

President Donald Trump did not attend the wedding. “He’d like me to go, but it’s going to be just a small, little private affair,” he told reporters before the event. “I said, you know, this is not good timing for me. I have a thing called Iran and other things.”

Trump Jr. is an executive vice president of the Trump Organization. Forbes estimates his net worth at about $300 million. CBS News said it asked the Trump Organization why he accepted the gift.