President Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that his son would return the money to Umar Kremlev, a Russian businessman with ties to the Kremlin who paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for the wedding after-party in the Bahamas earlier this year. The president defended the original gift as 'totally allowed,' according to the New York Times.
The new development came as Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) on Friday publicly criticized Donald Trump Jr. for accepting the funding. 'That's corruption,' Curtis said, according to The Hill, and pledged to say more in the coming days.
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, had already launched an investigation. In a letter sent Monday to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, Garcia expressed concern about 'any possible foreign entanglement' between the White House and Kremlev. He requested documents, records and communications between the White House and Trump Jr. regarding Kremlev.
Bettina Trump, who married Donald Trump Jr. in May, previously described the lavish celebration as a gift from a 'dear friend' and said: 'Friendship doesn't require a political motive.'
The controversy centers on Kremlev, a Russian oligarch with reported ties to the Kremlin. The Guardian reported that Garcia's letter specifically questions the appropriateness of a White House family member accepting such financial support from a foreign national with links to the Russian government.