Daniel Wolfram
The president’s son is having some interesting dinner parties with questionable people in the Baltics.
Late this summer, Donald Trump Jr. landed in Estonia aboard a private jet for a quick 24-hour visit.
He was there for an intimate thirteen-person dinner inside a tech company that builds internet gambling platforms.
The after-party then commenced at a local cigar bar. Don Jr. had invited some interesting guests, including a man convicted of fraud, gangsters, and mobsters.
A secret dinner party
The dinner party brought together a bizarre cast. One of the guests was Brad Parscale, who once ran Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
Seated at the dinner table was also Billy McFarland, the promoter behind the Fyre Festival, the failed festival that tricked people into going to a remote island with the false promise of luxury, music, and art. McFarland was subsequently imprisoned for fraud.
Joining them was Michael Franzese, an ex-mobster and crime boss who helped Russian syndicates swindle millions from the government during the 1980s and was a “capo” in the Colombo crime family syndicate in New York City, according to the Financial Times.
At the cigar lounge, the guest list became even more surreal. High-stakes poker players rubbed shoulders with a local film actress and eighteen-year-old Eliisa-Adele Toode, the reigning Miss World Estonia.
Craig Hilton, who runs Studioworks, explained the heavy secrecy to the FT: “Everyone involved who has factual knowledge is under a 55-page NDA, which is understandable given the guest list.”
The war in Ukraine was discussed
The evening also involved complex geopolitical discussions. Margus Tsahkna, Estonia’s foreign minister, was eager to talk about NATO and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with the president’s son.
With war raging in Ukraine, the Baltic nation is actively lobbying for heavier American and NATO troop commitments to deter Russian aggression.
As Tsahkna told Estonian broadcaster ERR, “the topic of Ukraine was on the table quite a lot.” The foreign minister defended attending, explaining, “It was very interesting to meet someone who, while not an active politician, wields significant influence, and to see his attitude towards us.” An aide for Donald Jr. said in response that the trip was personal.
Don Jr. has a lot of Russian friends
The Estonia dinner fits a pattern of unorthodox foreign excursions where Russians are also involved.
In Mongolia, Donald Jr. previously joined Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev for a remote hunting trip. Kremlev later helped fund Caribbean wedding celebrations for Trump Jr. and Bettina Anderson, drawing scrutiny from American lawmakers.
Once his night in Estonia ended, Don Jr. boarded his jet for Poland, heading straight into another round of high-end closed-door talks.
