US embassy should not provide any support to Trump Jr in India: Democratic Senator writes to envoy

A Democratic Senator has urged the US Ambassador to India to ensure that President Donald Trump's son is not given any special treatment by the diplomatic mission during his ongoing India visit except that required for security.

Senator Robert Menendez wrote a letter to Ambassador Kenneth Juster, saying he was concerned that a speech to be given by Donald J Trump Jr at business summit may send a "mistaken message that he is speaking on behalf of Donald Trump".

The 40-year-old Trump Jr is currently on a business trip in India. He is the executive vice president of the Trump Organisation which is developing a number of high profile properties in various parts of India.

"Given the potential to confuse Mr Trump's private business visit with having an official governmental purpose, I write to ensure that the US embassy presence in India will have no role in supporting Mr Trump or the Trump Organisation during his time in India, other than that necessary to provide any security support for the US Secret Service," the New Jersey Senator said in a letter to Juster.

"I expect that the US State Department, including the US Embassy in Delhi, will treat Mr Trump no differently than it would any other American individual visiting on private business, and will take every effort to avoid any perception of special treatment or a conflict of interest," he said as he listed a series of questions to Juster on the visit of Trump Jr.

The Trump Administration has said that Donald J Trump Jr is on a personal business visit to India.

In his letter, Menendez also raised concerns about his scheduled speech on Indo-Pacific relations at the Global Business Summit in Delhi on Friday.

"Given that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and multiple government ministers will speak at the same event, I am concerned that Mr Trump's speech will send the mistaken message that he is speaking on behalf of the President, the Administration or the United States government, not as a private individual, or that he is communicating official American policy," Menendez said.