Sen. John Curtis seeks subpoenas for presidents’ sons

Sen. John Curtis asked the Senate Judiciary Committee to subpoena Donald Trump Jr. and Hunter Biden to investigate whether their family connections were used for private financial gain tied to cryptocurrency ventures and foreign business dealings. The request came in a Monday letter to Chair Chuck Grassley and ranking member Dick Durbin.

In the letter, Curtis urged a formal inquiry into “the use of presidential family relationships for private financial benefit, preferential treatment, or access by domestic and foreign interest.” He requested subpoenas for both men so investigators can review records and gather testimony about their business activities and relationships.

Curtis highlighted a wedding gift from Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev to Donald Trump Jr., which the president said his son repaid, and pointed to Trump Jr.’s public promotion of family-linked cryptocurrency projects. The senator also cited Trump Jr.’s advisory roles with prediction market platforms, which fall under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s regulatory authority, and asked investigators to determine whether those roles or promotions produced financial advantages tied to his family’s political position.

On Hunter Biden, the letter referenced “substantial business with foreign entities” and asked the committee to examine occasions when his relationship to the president was invoked or understood to provide value. Curtis also noted President Biden’s December 2024 pardon for crimes Hunter Biden “committed or may have committed or taken part in over the last decade,” and referenced Hunter Biden’s public denial that he involved his father in business matters.

Curtis wrote that the purpose of the inquiry is “to establish the facts, determine whether existing ethics, disclosure, or anti-corruption laws apply, and identify reforms necessary to prevent the presidency from becoming a vehicle for private enrichment by those closest to it.”

The request arrives amid increased congressional attention on political families’ ties to the crypto sector. Earlier this year, lawmakers asked authorities to examine possible conflicts around President Trump’s memecoin, a family business called World Liberty Financial and a proposed $500 million deal tied to Abu Dhabi interests. President Trump disclosed earning $1.4 billion from activities tied to digital assets in 2025.

Curtis’s letter followed a failed Senate effort to pass the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, a bill aimed at setting market rules for digital assets. Senate Republicans backed the measure, but it lacked enough Democratic support. Some Democrats opposed the bill in part over concerns about the potential for presidential family crypto activity to generate personal profit; Republicans said the president had agreed to stronger ethics provisions affecting his crypto holdings before the vote.

Curtis, a Utah Republican in his first Senate term who is not up for reelection until 2030, asked the Judiciary Committee to collect documents and testimony to establish facts, assess whether current ethics, disclosure or anti-corruption laws apply, and recommend any legal or regulatory changes that may be needed.