NY Times Bombshell Details How Trump’s Sons Stand to Gain From $1.6B Kazakhstan Mining Deal

(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

President Donald Trump’s sons stand to benefit from a major U.S.-backed mining venture in Kazakhstan after the Trump administration helped broker an agreement giving an American company access, according to a bombshell investigation by The New York Times.

The report details how Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump became financially connected to the Kazakhstan project while the administration was pursuing a strategic agreement with the Central Asian nation to secure supplies of the critical mineral, which is essential for missile warheads, fighter jets, semiconductors, and other defense and industrial applications.

The deal comes as Washington races to reduce its dependence on China for critical minerals after Beijing imposed export restrictions on tungsten last year, triggering a surge in prices and renewed efforts to build alternative supply chains.

According to the lengthy Times report, published Sunday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trump personally helped secure Kazakhstan’s agreement to grant mining rights to a U.S.-backed company, Kaz Resources.

The administration also approved preliminary applications for up to $1.6 billion in federal financing for the project, though the funding still requires additional approvals.

Within weeks of those negotiations, investors linked to Dominari Securities, a financial firm partly owned by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, acquired a 20% stake in a corporate entity connected to the Kazakhstan venture.

Around the same time, Cantor Fitzgerald, controlled by the Lutnick family and overseen by Howard Lutnick’s sons Brandon and Kyle, helped raise $210 million for a related company involved in the transaction.

The agreement was signed on November 6, six days after the investment involving the Trump-linked entity and its partners, according to The Times.

The Times reported that at least 14 companies with financial ties to either the Trump family, the Lutnick family or both are actively working with the federal government on critical minerals projects, including the Kazakhstan venture.

Collectively, those projects have received or are being considered for more than $8.9 billion in federal support.

In a statement to the Times, the White House rejected suggestions of impropriety.

“The only special interest guiding the Trump administration’s decision-making is the best interest of the American people,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said. “Securing and reshoring America’s critical supply chains has been a top priority for President Trump, and Secretary Lutnick along with the rest of the administration continue to take historic action to safeguard America’s national and economic security.”

Eric Trump said he “has always been a passive investor with absolutely no management role.”

In separate statements to the newspaper, both Trump brothers denied being involved in negotiating the deal.

British investor Paul Mann, who confirmed the Trump brothers have a financial interest in the project, said: “When you look at it, take a step back here, there’s no conflict of interest here. And it’s certainly in the United States government’s best interest to want to do this deal.”

Kaz Resources chief executive Pini Althaus also defended the arrangement, acknowledging: “I can see how the optics might be disturbing to some people,” before adding: “But that’s unfortunate because this company and this project goes way beyond any one president, let alone any family.”

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!