Donald Trump Jr. hasn’t taken kindly to the recent scrutiny of his lavish wedding party, following the revelation that it was partially bankrolled by a Russian oligarch with deep ties to the Kremlin. In a joint statement with his wife, Trump Jr. argued that “friendship doesn’t require a political motive” and “sometimes a wedding gift is simply a wedding gift.” His defense might make an ounce of sense if he was not the son of the president.
Investigative media outlet ProPublica, citing records it reviewed and interviews with three people familiar with the event, revealed on Monday that Trump Jr.’s three-day party held across two private islands was funded in part by Umar Kremlev, a “Russian oligarch close to President Vladimir Putin.” Kremlev heads the International Boxing Association, an organization that has been financed by the Russian state-owned energy company Gazprom. ProPublica reported that Kremlev “footed the bill for hundreds of thousands of dollars of wedding expenses,” including paying to rent one of the islands and the fireworks show. (A spokesperson for Trump Jr. did not dispute the wedding payments from Kremlev and told ProPublica that “Umar is a personal friend of Don.”)
Without even getting into the political and geopolitical concerns, this arrangement is, on its face, peculiar for a few reasons. Trump Jr. said on his podcast that the party was “really small, like, just really close friends,” which makes it all the more striking that Kremlev helped pay for the celebration and attended. ProPublica says Kremlev “speaks limited English,” and Kremlev’s office said that he and Trump Jr. met “a couple of years ago.” President Donald Trump said he’s “never heard of” Kremlev.
Given that Trump Jr. is the son of the president, questions of politics and government ethics cannot be set aside.
Furthermore, why would a new friend offer such an extraordinary contribution — hundreds of thousands of dollars to cover the cost of a private island? That level of expense is something that would typically be covered by either the bride and the groom or their families. Even a party of Gatsbyesque decadence would’ve been easily manageable for Trump Jr., who is estimated to have a net worth of hundreds of millions of dollars. And of course his father is a billionaire.
But given that Trump Jr. is the son of the president, questions of politics and government ethics cannot be set aside. And while there’s no indication that any laws were violated, it certainly violates common sense principles of ethical governance that would guard both against a quid pro quo with the Trump administration — or the appearance of one.
Is it possible that Trump Jr. could receive a gift without the expectation of something in return? Sure. But it’s impossible to rule out. That’s because both the giver and the recipient of an eye-poppingly expensive gift are closely connected to their respective governments.
Trump Jr., it should be noted, already bears a shameful history of trying to collaborate with Russian contacts to influence elections. During the 2016 campaign, Trump Jr. was approached in an email by one of his father’s Russian business contacts with ties to the Kremlin, who said he could provide dirt on Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton that “would be very useful to your father.” Trump Jr. replied, “If it’s what you say I love it.” And as ProPublica recounts, “Trump Jr.’s June 2016 meeting with a Russian attorney in Trump Tower became a major focus of the Robert Mueller investigation,” though Mueller concluded there was insufficient evidence to convict Trump Jr. of a crime. (In 2017, Trump Jr. told Fox News host Sean Hannity, “In retrospect, I probably would have done things a little differently.”)
Perhaps Kremlev’s exorbitant gift to Trump Jr. was earnest generosity from one new friend to another. Or perhaps it was a nudge to Trump Jr. to advocate on Russia’s behalf with the Trump administration on Ukraine or sanctions against Russia or other policy issues. It’s impossible to know. But if Trump Jr. cared at all about the possibility of sullying the reputation of the federal government as potentially for sale, he would have declined the gift. He has long demonstrated he has no such qualms.
Trump Jr. and his brother, Eric Trump, have raked in cash with a number of ventures that serve as vehicles for potential corruption, including a cryptocurrency business and investments in the defense sector. (The two have insisted multiple times they are not involved in government decision making.) This hardly registers as a scandal during an administration when the president has used his office to enrich himself in an entirely unprecedented manner. (The White House has insisted that Trump and his family has never engaged in conflicts of interest.) That doesn’t make it any less devastating for our democracy.
Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, has sent a letter White House chief of staff Susie Wiles stating that “Oversight Democrats are investigating the numerous ways in which the Trump family have sought to enrich themselves on the basis of their proximity to President Donald Trump” and requesting documents and communications that could shed light on connections between the White House, Trump Jr. and Kremlev. He sent a separate letter to Trump Jr. with similar asks. It’s the right first step, and Democrats ought to dig in further should they gain more power in Congress after the midterm elections.
The post Donald Trump Jr.’s defense of a Russian oligarch’s ‘gift’ is ridiculous appeared first on MS NOW.
Author: Source Author
From MS Now.
Leave a Reply