Utah Rep. Blake Moore stated Thursday that he “absolutely agrees” with Sen. John Curtis’ request for an investigation into Donald Trump Jr.’s wedding after-party, which was reportedly funded by a Russian oligarch connected to President Vladimir Putin.
Moore, speaking at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City during an event hosted by the Sutherland Institute, described the event as "tone-deaf" when asked about Curtis’ calls. He added, “Maybe one of the most tone-deaf things I’ve ever seen, to take money from a Russian oligarch for a wedding.”
Earlier this week, Sen. John Curtis issued a letter to leaders of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary. In the letter, Curtis asked the committee to “launch an investigation into the use of presidential family relationships for private financial benefit, preferential treatment, or access by domestic and foreign interests.” He urged the committee to subpoena both Trump Jr. and Hunter Biden to testify about their past business dealings, relationships with foreign individuals, and any benefits they received, particularly where their relationship to the President might have been a factor.
Curtis’ calls to investigate Trump Jr. followed a ProPublica report earlier this month. The report stated that Umar Kremlev, a Russian oligarch with close ties to Putin, attended the wedding and "footed the bill for hundreds of thousands of dollars of wedding expenses." Last week, President Trump publicly defended the payments as "very common" and "totally allowed," according to The New York Times, but also stated his son would repay Kremlev.
In his social media post accompanying the letter, Curtis drew a parallel to past inquiries. He wrote that “Republicans nearly wore out the subpoena machine investigating Hunter Biden’s foreign relationships. We should not unplug it now.”
Curtis noted that Hunter Biden had conducted “substantial business with foreign entities, including interests in China and Ukraine,” while his father, former President Joe Biden, was in the White House. While Hunter Biden has denied involving his father in his business dealings, Curtis wrote that “there is little question that President Biden’s decades in public office gave his son a degree of access, name recognition, and influence that materially enhanced his value in business dealings and opened doors that otherwise may have remained closed.” Hunter Biden previously pleaded guilty to federal tax charges in 2024 and was later pardoned by President Biden that same year.
Rep. Moore, who is currently running to remain in Congress for Utah’s new 2nd Congressional District, acknowledged his involvement in past investigations. As a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, which oversees the IRS, Moore stated he was “really involved in the Hunter Biden stuff” during investigations into Hunter Biden’s tax evasion.
However, Moore made a distinction between the two situations. “So there’s a difference between evading taxes, that’s a criminal penalty, versus taking a gift that’s going to be an ethical decision at some point,” Moore said, reiterating that he would "absolutely agree to look into anything.”
Moore continued to express his concern regarding the ethical implications of the wedding payments. “It’s just tone deaf, and it’s just not the type of stuff that we need to, you know, be dealing with right now,” he said. While acknowledging the money was given back, Moore questioned the initial decision: “Why in the world is there not somebody advising them? Like … this is going to be a bad look, if nothing else, other than highly, highly unethical.”
As of now, the outcome of Curtis' calls for an investigation remains uncertain. Congressional Republicans are reportedly divided on supporting his subpoena requests, and Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee have not committed to opening an investigation, as reported by the Deseret News on Wednesday.
