President Trump’s sons
Rep. Mike Levin (D‑Calif.) accused President Trump’s sons of profiting from a taxpayer‑backed tungsten mining deal in Kazakhstan, declaring: “The fathers set the policy, the sons cashed in.”

A Democratic US congressman has accused President Donald Trump's sons and the sons of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick of profiting from a taxpayer-backed mining deal in Kazakhstan. He alleged that a US-backed tungsten project allowed both families' children to benefit financially, declaring: 'The fathers set the policy, the sons cashed in.'

Rep. Mike Levin, a Democrat from California, made the remarks in a lengthy post on X while reacting to a New York Times investigation into a tungsten mining agreement between the United States and Kazakhstan. The deal has drawn scrutiny over the financial interests of both families.

What The New York Times found

According to the investigation by Paul Sonne and Eric Lipton, Trump joined Lutnick by phone last September as the two secured an agreement with Kazakhstan's leader granting a little-known American company access to one of the world's largest untapped tungsten reserves.

Tungsten is used in missile warheads, fighter jets and computer chips. The Trump administration had already approved preliminary applications for up to $1.6 billion in federal financing for the company, now called Kaz Resources.

Weeks after the negotiations, investors linked to Dominari Securities, a firm partly owned by Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, joined other partners in taking a 20 per cent stake in an entity tied to the Kazakhstan project.

Around the same time, Cantor Fitzgerald, the investment firm overseen by Lutnick's sons Brandon and Kyle, helped raise $210 million for a lead investor working alongside Dominari on the deal.

Levin's reaction goes viral

Levin used his X post, which gained wide attention after circulating on Reddit and other platforms, to lay out the timeline.

'The fathers set the policy. The sons cashed in,' he wrote, adding that federal filings show one or both families have ties to at least 14 companies working with the government on critical mineral deals.

He went further, calling it 'the most corrupt administration in American history' and accusing House Speaker Mike Johnson of 'running a protection racket' by declining to investigate. The full post is available on Levin's X account.

Trump Organisation rejects allegations

The claims have been disputed. Lawyers for the Trump Organisation sent a letter to The New York Times calling the report 'deeply misleading' and arguing that it wrongly implied Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump influenced the decision to award the Kazakhstan contract.

The letter, addressed to the newspaper's editor-in-chief, insisted that the brothers 'had absolutely no involvement in the award of the Kazakhstan project'.

It also said Cove Capital, the firm ultimately awarded the tungsten rights, was not introduced to the Trump-linked investment vehicle until roughly a month after the original September agreement.

Kaz Resources' executive chairman has separately said he never spoke directly with either Trump brother before the investment was made.

The dispute extends beyond a single mining project.

Government watchdogs and members of Congress have pointed to a wider pattern in which relatives of senior officials gain financial stakes in ventures connected to their fathers' policy decisions. This has raised questions about oversight of taxpayer-backed foreign investment deals and where the line lies between public duty and private gain.

Originally published on IBTimes UK