President Donald Trump’s eldest son and new bride Bettina Trump said Umar Kremlev bestowed them with gifts out of friendship after ProPublica found that the businessman paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in part to rent an island in the Bahamas for an afterparty that included fireworks.
The first lady completely disassociated herself from Trump Jr.’s widely criticized arrangement.
“Mrs. Trump does not, and has never had, a relationship with Mr. Kremlev,” a spokesperson told the Daily Mail on Tuesday. “Mrs. Trump played no role whatsoever in organizing the wedding event and was not privy to any aspect of its financial planning.”
The president also distanced himself from the wedding but defended the involvement of Kremlev as “no big deal!”
“I have no idea who Umar is, never heard of him, and he didn’t pay for Don and Bettina’s wedding, which took place at a totally different location, and on a different day,” the president said. “It was an ‘after-party’ given in their honor. Not a big deal!”
Trump Jr.’s deal with a known associate of the Russian president, who is considered an adversary, has raised alarms among national security experts, ProPublica wrote.