Democrats launch probe into Donald Trump Jr.’s relationship with Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev

House Democrats in the U.S. Congress have launched an investigation into Donald Trump Jr.’s relationship with Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev, after it emerged that Trump Jr. and his wife Bettina Trump admitted that their lavish Bahamas wedding trip was partly paid for by Kremlev — a businessman with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Democratic Congressman Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, sent a letter to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles requesting all documents and communications on the relationship with Kremlev. In the letter, Garcia writes that any apparent ties to Putin’s inner circle “raise serious questions about pay-for-play schemes and foreign intelligence infiltration of the president’s family.” Given that Trump Jr. is reported to advise his father on national security matters, Garcia stresses that any foreign entanglement deserves close scrutiny.

Kremlev is linked to the Russian group “Healthy Fatherland,” headed by his sister-in-law, which has been sanctioned by Ukraine for its role in the illegal abduction of Ukrainian children from occupied territories. According to the investigative outlet ProPublica, which reported on September 14, Kremlev spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the three-day Bahamas celebration. Bettina Trump said on Instagram that Kremlev gave the couple an “extremely generous wedding gift,” paying for two after-parties — but not the wedding ceremony itself.

President Trump said he does not know Kremlev and downplayed the matter, saying it is “not a big deal.” On the other hand, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called the arrangement “so corrupt, so low, so dangerous for national security.”

Source: The Kyiv Independent