Senate Republican on Trump Jr. wedding gift from Russian oligarch: ‘Really bad’

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) says Donald Trump Jr.’s acceptance of lavish gifts from a Russian oligarch with ties to the Kremlin looks “really bad” and warned it would be “wrong” for anyone with “proximity to power” to accept items of great value from an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Anytime someone gives you a $250,000 gift and they have strong ties to the Kremlin, that’s wrong,” Cassidy told Margaret Brennan, the host of CBS’s “ Face the Nation ,” on Sunday.

“You — with that proximity to power, being the president’s son, you’ve got to give faith to the American people that Washington is not a swamp,” he added. “And even though in your mind it might be a gift, the appearance of it is really bad.”

Cassidy, however, said Trump Jr., President Trump’s eldest son, made the right move by paying back Russian businessman Umar Kremlev.

“And so I’m glad it’s been repaid,” he said. “It would be nice to have that kind of verified, and, no, it shouldn’t have been done in the first place.”

Cassidy became at least the third Republican senator to criticize Trump Jr.’s acceptance of tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of gifts from Kremlev, the president of the International Boxing Association, who helped pay for a luxurious after-wedding party for Trump Jr. and his new wife Bettina Trump.

ProPublica broke the story last week that Kremlev paid to rent one of two private islands where the Trumps held a three-day party in the Bahamas and also footed the bill for a private fireworks show.

Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) on Friday ripped Trump Jr. for taking such lavish gifts from a Kremlin ally, declaring it smelled of “corruption.”

“A Russian oligarch paid for a lavish wedding after-party for Donald Trump Jr., which to me just thinks, ‘It’s corruption,’ I don’t like it,” Curtis said in a video Friday.

“You’ll hear more from me later on. This is a big deal,” he said.

Bettina Trump confirmed in a social media post that the couple’s “dear friend Umar very generously hosted two incredible nights of celebrations” but emphasized it was “AFTER” the wedding itself, which was a private ceremony attended only by family.

President Trump told reporters Friday that his son paid back Kremlev and that he did nothing wrong.

“Well, it’s totally allowed, and a lot of people have parties and all, but it’s totally allowed,” the president said. “But as I understand it, he paid him back. He didn’t want to have that, so I hear he paid him back.”

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) last week called Kremlev’s financing of Trump Jr.’s three-day party “beyond bad.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), however, said last week he needed to learn more about the financial arrangement.

“I don’t know all the particulars on that. I’ve seen — or heard, I should say — some of the reporting around that. I just don’t know enough about it,” he said.