Republican Sen. John Curtis of Utah has urged the Senate Judiciary Committee to investigate whether Donald Trump’s son and President Joe Biden’s son used family ties to the presidency for private gain, with Curtis explicitly pointing to their involvement in cryptocurrency and related financial activities.
In a letter sent to Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley and ranking member Dick Durbin, Curtis requested subpoenas for Donald Trump Jr. and Hunter Biden, arguing the committee should examine whether presidential family relationships were used for “private financial benefit, preferential treatment, or access by domestic and foreign interest.”
Key takeaways
- Sen. John Curtis asked the Senate Judiciary Committee to investigate Donald Trump Jr. and Hunter Biden using subpoenas.
- Curtis’ allegations focus on potential conflicts of interest and how presidential connections may have translated into value for business dealings.
- For Donald Trump Jr., Curtis specifically cited crypto-linked roles and advisory activities, noting they fall under the regulatory scope of the CFTC.
- Curtis linked Hunter Biden’s case to “substantial business with foreign entities” and the alleged use of presidential ties for advantage.
- The push for investigations arrives amid continued uncertainty around US crypto market-structure legislation, after the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act failed to advance.
Curtis targets crypto and family ties in requested subpoenas
According to Curtis’ letter, the committee should probe whether the sons’ proximity to their respective fathers influenced financial outcomes. He argued the investigation should “establish the facts,” determine which ethics, disclosure, or anti-corruption laws may apply, and identify reforms to ensure the presidency is not used as “a vehicle for private enrichment by those closest to it.”
For Donald Trump Jr., Curtis highlighted multiple points, including the former president’s son’s acceptance of gifts from Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev tied to a wedding, as well as what Curtis described as “active promotion of family-backed cryptocurrency ventures.” The senator also referenced advisory roles with prediction market platforms, arguing those platforms are within the scope of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Curtis also pointed to President Trump’s public statement last week that Donald Trump Jr. had repaid Kremlev for what the couple described as a “generous wedding gift.”
Hunter Biden scrutiny centers on foreign business and possible implied access
Curtis’ request did not stop with Trump Jr. He also called for a similar probe into Hunter Biden, citing what he characterized as “substantial business with foreign entities.”
In the letter, Curtis argued that the committee should look at situations where either man’s relationship to the presidency was “invoked or understood to provide value.” Curtis noted that President Biden issued a pardon for Hunter Biden in December 2024 for crimes Hunter “committed or may have committed or taken part in over the last decade,” and referenced Hunter Biden’s position that he did not involve his father in business dealings.
The senator framed the issue less as a determination of wrongdoing at the outset and more as a fact-finding and legal assessment exercise aimed at clarifying whether existing rules were triggered and what safeguards should be strengthened if they were not.
Why this matters as crypto policy remains contested in the Senate
Curtis’ letter arrives in a political climate where crypto oversight and market regulation continue to be difficult to reconcile in Congress. The renewed push for investigations follows a week after Senate Republicans failed to secure enough Democratic support for the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, a bill expected to lay out market-structure rules for digital assets.
Some Democrats said they were not willing to support the bill because of concerns that President Trump would “use crypto to turn the presidency into a profit generating machine.” The president has also disclosed that he earned $1.4 billion from ventures tied to digital assets in 2025, according to coverage referenced in the underlying reporting.
Republicans argued the bill incorporated stronger ethics provisions that would affect the president’s crypto investments ahead of the vote. Still, many Democrats maintained that the measures did not go far enough to prevent corruption and improper influence.
Against that backdrop, Curtis’ focus on subpoenas and potential conflict-of-interest patterns reflects a broader theme: even as legislators debate how to regulate crypto markets, they are also pushing for scrutiny of whether public office—and the public’s perception of access to officeholders—can be leveraged through crypto-related business activity.
Investigations into the Trump family’s crypto ties already featured in this Congress
Curtis’ request is not the first attempt during the current Congressional session to draw lawmakers’ attention to potential crypto conflicts around the Trump family. Earlier calls for probes have largely come from House and Senate Democrats, who urged authorities to examine possible conflicts connected to Trump’s memecoin, his family’s World Liberty Financial business, and a separate $500 million deal associated with Abu Dhabi’s royal family.
Earlier coverage also pointed to Senate Democrats pushing for hearings and oversight into whether crypto ventures created incentives that blurred the line between official responsibilities and private financial interests.
Curtis is serving his first term in the Senate and is not up for reelection until 2030.
Readers should watch whether the Judiciary Committee agrees to act on the subpoenas Curtis is urging, and how that decision may intersect with the Senate’s stalled efforts to pass broader market-structure legislation—particularly as lawmakers continue to debate whether existing ethics frameworks can effectively address alleged conflicts tied to crypto.
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