‘Tone deaf’: Rep. Moore backs Sen. Curtis’ call to investigate Trump Jr. gift from Russian oligarch

Utah Rep. Blake Moore said on Thursday that he “absolutely agrees” with Sen. John Curtis’ call to investigate Donald Trump Jr.’s lavish, private-island wedding after-party that was bankrolled by a Russian oligarch with ties to President Vladimir Putin. 

“Maybe one of the most tone-deaf things I’ve ever seen,” Moore said, “to take money from a Russian oligarch for a wedding.”

Moore’s comment about Curtis’ calls came in response to a question near the end of a speaking event in front of students at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, hosted by the Sutherland Institute, a conservative think tank based in Utah. 

Moore is currently running to stay in Congress. In the upcoming Nov. 3 general election, he’s slated to compete for Utah’s new 2nd Congressional District against four other candidates — Democrat Peter Crosby, Libertarian Daniel Cottam, Independent American Carlton Bowen and unaffiliated candidate Robert Moesinger.

Curtis earlier this week issued a letter to leaders of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, asking them to “launch an investigation into the use of presidential family relationships for private financial benefit, preferential treatment, or access by domestic and foreign interests.” 

A toaster is a wedding gift. A private-island party paid for by a Putin-connected oligarch is something else. Republicans nearly wore out the subpoena machine investigating Hunter Biden’s foreign relationships. We should not unplug it now. ‘Trust us’ was not enough then, and it is not enough now.

— Senator John Curtis (@SenJohnCurtis) September 22, 2026

In the letter, Curtis urged the committee to subpoena both Trump Jr., and Hunter Biden “to testify regarding their past business dealings, relationships with foreign individuals and entities, gifts, or other benefits they have received, and any instances in which their relationship to the President was invoked or understood to provide value.”  

Curtis noted that Hunter Biden “conducted substantial business with foreign entities, including interests in China and Ukraine,” while his father, former President Joe Biden, was in the White House. Hunter Biden has previously been investigated, but Curtis said “congressional testimony has produced conflicting accounts about the extent to which his father’s name, presence, or political stature played a role in those relationships.” 

While Hunter Biden has denied involving his father in his business dealings, Curtis wrote “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.” 

In a social media post that included a copy of the letter, Curtis wrote that “Republicans nearly wore out the subpoena machine investigating Hunter Biden’s foreign relationships. We should not unplug it now.” 

Curtis’ calls to also investigate Trump Jr. came after ProPublica reported earlier this month that Umar Kremlev, the Russian oligarch close to Putin, attended the wedding and “footed the bill for hundreds of thousands of dollars of wedding expenses.” 

Last week, President Trump said his son would pay back Kremlev while also defending the payments as “very common” and “totally allowed,” The New York Times reported. 

Moore said Thursday he was “really involved in the Hunter Biden stuff” as a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, which has oversight of the IRS, while Hunter Biden was investigated for tax evasion. In 2024, Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to federal tax charges. Later that year, President Biden pardoned his son.

Moore, however, made a distinction between Trump Jr. and Hunter Biden.

“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. “But I absolutely agree to look into anything.” 

Moore reiterated that “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.”

“I appreciate that they gave the money back, but why in the world is there not somebody advising them?” Moore said. “Like … this is going to be a bad look, if nothing else, other than highly, highly unethical.”

It’s unclear what will come of Curtis’ calls to investigate, if anything. Congressional Republicans are split on whether to back his subpoena requests, and Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee haven’t committed to opening an investigation, the Deseret News reported Wednesday.