Trump Jr. Confirms Putin Ally Paid for Wedding Gala

Donald Trump Jr. is downplaying a generous wedding splurge by a Russian oligarch closely aligned with Vladimir Putin. In an Instagram post, Trump and his wife, Bettina, confirmed that Umar Kremlev picked up the tab for two days of post-wedding celebrations in the Bahamas in May after ProPublica reported he spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the festivities. "Our dear friend Umar very generously hosted two incredible nights of celebrations for us AFTER our wedding," the couple wrote. "It was an extraordinarily generous wedding gift from a friend."

President Trump, who did not attend the wedding, told NBC News in a statement that the gift was "not a big deal," adding that he doesn't know Kremlev and had never heard of him. Critics, however, had a different view. Rep. Robert Garcia, top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, took note of Kremlev's lavish spending and asked, "What did he get in return? We need answers." In a separate post, Bettina Trump wrote that "it's unfortunate that something so personal and happy can be recast as something political or sinister simply because of who someone is or where they come from."