Trump claims that son will refund Russian oligarch for wedding expenses

“ Qwhen I heard this story, I asked about it. And he said, ‘No, Daddy, I will repay you’,” said the President.

Trump also stated that the contribution in question was “authorized”.

Donald Trump Jr.’s wife confirmed on Monday that the wedding party of both was partially financed by Umar Kremlev, the Russian oligarch who presented as a “dear friend”.

“Very generously [Kremlev] offered us two amazing nights of celebration after our wedding,” says a Instagram publication by Bettina Trump, signed by the couple.

According to ProPublica, a non-profit research journalism site, Kremlev, who presides over the International Boxing Association, funded by the Russian energy giant Gazprom, “arched with hundreds of thousands of dollars in wedding expenses,” including the rental of one of the two private islands where the three-day party and a fireworks show took place.

The payments came from a Dubai entity affiliated with the boxing agency, the site reported, citing analyzed records and interviews with three people.

“ It is unfortunate that something so personal and happy can be reinterpreted as something political or sinister simply because of who someone is or where they come from. Friendship does not require political motive. Generosity is not automatically accompanied by a hidden agenda. And sometimes a wedding gift is simply a wedding gift”, says the publication.

The US Attorney General Todd Blanche, appointed by Trump, refused on Tuesday to investigate the expenses of the Russian oligarch, considering that the payment was “a gift” and that the issue has already been resolved by those involved, although the Democratic opposition began to investigate the matter in Congress.

“The President does not know who this person is. I believe that other family members do not know who this person is. The President’s son said that he is a close friend and that he accepted the present on the weekend of his marriage”, he said.

“ When you ask me if I'm investigating this, my question is: investigate what? It says that this person is friends with [Vladimir] Putin (Russian President), and I don't even know if this is true. It is fun to talk about this subject, but I believe that the people involved in the issue have already pronounced ", added the prosecutor.

Kremlev has a criminal record under a previous name, according to The Washington Post.

As president of the Russian Boxing Federation, Kremlev presented Putin with a diamond boxing glove, and Putin granted him a prestigious state distinction known as the Order of Merit to the Homeland.

In a letter sent on Monday to the White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles, the Democratic leader of the House of Representatives Supervisory Committee, Robert García, requires a series of documents to clarify the information revealed by the ProPublica.

“ The close and opaque relationship between the son of an acting President of the United States and a member of the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s inner circle raises serious concerns about national security and public corruption,” wrote Robert García.

“ It is even more disturbing that a Russian oligarch has financed, as reported, part of the luxurious marriage of the owner of several companies that have contracts with the Department of Defense,” said the Democratic congressman, recalling that Donald Trump Jr. is co-owner and a large investor in multiple companies with large contracts with the Pentagon.

Trump Jr. had previously been the subject of scrutiny due to his ties with Russia. During the 2016 campaign, his meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya was targeted by federal and Congressional investigators to determine whether Donald Trump's campaign had coordinated actions with Russia to interfere with the election.

In discussion, there will have been potentially compromising information about Trump's then opposing Democrat Hillary Clinton, part of the Russian government's efforts to help Trump Jr.'s father conquer the White House.

The offer of the oligarch to the Trump family comes at a time when Russia continues to war after the invasion of Ukraine and when Trump failed to broker a promised peace agreement.