MAGA Sen. Bernie Moreno has been grilled on live TV over the bombshell revelation that a Russian oligarch helped pay for Donald Trump Jr.’s lavish wedding.
The Ohio senator has been actively endorsed by the president’s eldest son, 48, both in person and on social media.
Moreno, 59, appeared on CNN’s The Source on Tuesday, where host Kaitlan Collins mentioned his previous endorsement by Don Jr.—whom Moreno instantly described as “a great guy.”
Collins then asked the Republican about reports that a close ally of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin helped pay for Trump Jr.’s second wedding.
Umar Kremlev, head of the International Boxing Association, spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the reception for Trump and his partner, socialite Bettina Anderson.
That included renting a private island and paying for a massive fireworks display, according to a damning report from ProPublica.
Collins asked Moreno if, as a senator, having Russian money spent on the wedding was something “you personally are comfortable with” and if he knew Kremlev.
“I don’t know who the Russian oligarch is,” Moreno said. “I know that Don Jr. is a great human being, an amazing American, I’m super happy for him and his family that they had a great wedding.”
Attempting to deflect, Moreno said, “I think this is not the story that is worthy of your show. We should be thinking about the things that affect Americans.”
Rather than mention those things, Moreno immediately shifted the conversation onto former President Joe Biden’s son Hunter, who discussed his previous struggles with alcohol and crack cocaine in his 2021 memoir Beautiful Things.
“Look, you compare Don Jr. to Hunter Biden and you have one that’s a complete drug-addicted degenerate compared to a great human being and successful entrepreneur,” Moreno said. “And I’m very happy for him. I’m glad that he had a great wedding and I wish him the absolute best. He’s a great friend.”
Collins seized on Moreno raising the topic of Hunter Biden, and asked the Republican if he would have had questions if his celebrations had been bankrolled by a Russian oligarch.
“You mean like when he got diamonds dropped off in his hotel room when he was in China, when his dad took him there, parading him through China to get gifts and bribes when he was put on the board of Burisma?” Moreno blurted out, referencing Burisma Holdings, a private Ukrainian natural gas company.
When Collins again asked Moreno if he thought it would be appropriate, he replied, “Those are all Hunter Biden stories.”
The CNN host replied, “Right, but if that’s inappropriate for him, why would this be appropriate?”
The Republican continued to defend the Trump family, telling Collins, “Look, do you know the circumstances? I have no idea. It could be a situation where somebody said, `Hey, I’m going to throw you a party,’ it becomes a wedding. I don’t know.”
Trump Jr. is now being investigated over Kremlev’s involvement in the wedding by the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee.
“The secretive and exorbitant gifts you have received as the son of a sitting U.S. President from a member of Putin’s inner circle raises serious national security and public corruption concerns,” Rep. Robert Garcia of California wrote in a letter to Trump Jr.
“A Russian oligarch reportedly financing parts of a lavish wedding for the owner of multiple firms holding Department of Defense contracts is all the more disturbing,” he added.
