Donald Trump Jr. spent two days hunting in western Mongolia in August with Omer Karmelev, a Russian businessman with a criminal record and close ties to Vladimir Putin's security service. Karmelev, the president of the International Boxing Association, changed his surname from Lutpoloyev - meaning "of the Kremlin" - in 2010 after convictions for extortion and racketeering. He paid for parts of Trump Jr.'s wedding festivities in May, and the president later said his son repaid him. A spokesman for Trump Jr. said the two have a "personal friendship, not a business relationship," based primarily on a shared love of hunting. Intelligence experts have warned that such relationships are ripe for manipulation by Russian services. Trump Jr. also killed an endangered Altai argali during the trip, and later met the president of Mongolia.

Donald Trump Jr. spent two days hunting in western Mongolia in August with Omer Karmelev, a Russian businessman with a criminal record and close ties to Vladimir Putin's security service. Karmelev, the president of the International Boxing Association, changed his surname from Lutpoloyev - meaning "of the Kremlin" - in 2010 after convictions for extortion and racketeering. He paid for parts of Trump Jr.'s wedding festivities in May, and the president later said his son repaid him. A spokesman for Trump Jr. said the two have a "personal friendship, not a business relationship," based primarily on a shared love of hunting. Intelligence experts have warned that such relationships are ripe for manipulation by Russian services. Trump Jr. also killed an endangered Altai argali during the trip, and later met the president of Mongolia.