Sen. Curtis seeks Trump Jr., Hunter Biden subpoenas
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Donald Trump Jr. stands beside his wife, Bettina Anderson, at the Amgen Irish Open in Doonbeg, Ireland.
Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) is urging Senate Judiciary leaders to subpoena Donald Trump Jr. and Hunter Biden to investigate whether presidential family ties have been used for private family gain.
Why it matters: The Republican Curtis is pressing a Republican-led Senate committee to scrutinize President Trump's eldest son, arguing the same congressional oversight applied to Hunter Biden should apply to presidential families of both parties.
Driving the news: The Monday letter to Senate Judiciary chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and ranking member Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) asks for an investigation into "private financial benefit, preferential treatment, or access" tied to presidential family relationships.
- Curtis wants the committee to subpoena both sons to testify about "any instances in which their relationship to the President was invoked or understood to provide value."
Catch up quick: ProPublica reported that Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev paid hundreds of thousands of dollars toward Trump Jr.'s three-day wedding celebration in the Bahamas, including buying a private-island rental.
- Curtis also cited Trump Jr.'s ties to prediction markets. Trump Jr. is a paid strategic adviser to Kalshi and sits on Polymarket's advisory board. 1789 Capital, where Trump Jr. is a partner, has invested in Polymarket.
- Curtis also pointed to Trump family-backed cryptocurrency ventures, international real estate deals involving meetings with foreign heads of state, and Trump Jr.'s reported defense-sector investments.
What he's saying: "A toaster is a wedding gift," Curtis wrote on X. "A private-island party paid for by a Putin-connected oligarch is something else. Republicans nearly wore out the subpoena machine investigating Hunter Biden's foreign relationships. We should not unplug it now. 'Trust us' was not enough then, and it is not enough now."
For the record: The White House, Trump Jr. and Hunter Biden have not yet responded to requests for comment.
- Hunter Biden has denied involving his father in business dealings.
- Trump Jr. confirmed Kremlev hosted celebrations, describing it as a wedding gift from a friend. President Trump later defended the arrangement as "totally allowed" and said he had been told his son would repay Kremlev.
Flashback: House Republicans subpoenaed Hunter Biden in 2023 as part of their impeachment inquiry into then-President Biden.
- The younger Biden testified that he did not involve his father in his business dealings.
