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Victor J. Blue for The Washington Post Boris Epshteyn, center, is a top adviser to President-elect Donald Trump.
The Washington Post / Isaac Arnsdorf, Josh Dawsey
12:20 JST, November 26, 2024
A top adviser to President-elect Donald Trump asked potential administration nominees to give him monthly consulting fees in exchange for advocating for them to Trump, a written review by Trump’s legal team concluded.
The scathing review of Boris Epshteyn, a top lawyer to Trump who has extensive sway in the transition, was prepared by Trump’s attorneys in recent days, according to two people familiar with the report. It found that among those whom Epshteyn had unsuccessfully solicited for payment was Scott Bessent, Trump’s pick for treasury secretary.
Trump commissioned the report after he heard allegations that Epshteyn had been asking potential Cabinet nominees and others for money, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the internal document.
The review recommended that Epshteyn’s employment with and proximity to Trump should be ended, warning of scandal for Trump and possibly eventual criminal charges for Epshteyn, according to one of the people with knowledge of the review.
The existence of the review itself was first reported by CNN. Some of the elements of Epshteyn’s conduct were first reported by Just the News, a conservative website, on Monday afternoon. That outlet said it had spoken to Trump, who had criticized anyone who seeks to make money off him. “I suppose every President has people around them who try to make money off them on the outside. It’s a shame but it happens,” Trump said, according to the outlet. “But no one working for me in any capacity should be looking to make money.”
The report highlights what has been a significant potential conflict-of-interest in Trump’s political orbit. Many of the allies and advisers around him also advocate for other candidates and business interests, and they do not always disclose their payments to Trump or his top advisers. Epshteyn has long been viewed with suspicions by some other Trump advisers because of his stable of private clients, Trump advisers said.
Epshteyn denied the allegations.
“I am honored to work for President Trump and with his team,” he said in a statement. “These fake claims are false and defamatory and will not distract us from Making America Great Again.”
Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said the review was part of a broader look at campaign consulting contracts. Cheung did not address Epshteyn’s status moving forward.
“As is standard practice, a broad review of the campaign’s consulting agreements has been conducted and completed, including as to Boris, among others,” Cheung said. “We are now moving ahead together as a team to help President Trump Make America Great Again.”
The legal review described, what it called, a troubling pattern of Epshteyn approaching people who sought access to Trump and offering help if they would give him monthly consulting fees, creating conflicts of interest.
According to the report, one day after Bessent met with Trump for the first time in February, Epshteyn invited him to lunch at a Palm Beach hotel, where Epshteyn asked for a monthly stipend of at least $30,000 per month to promote Bessent around the club.
Bessent did not agree and told an aide that Epshteyn shook him down, people familiar with the findings said.
Epshteyn later asked Bessent to invest $10 million in a three-on-three basketball league, the report concluded. Again, Bessent declined, though he believed that if he invested, Epshteyn would treat him more favorably, according to a person familiar with the report’s findings.
After the election, Bessent came to believe that Epshteyn was “knifing” him as he sought to be chosen to serve as Trump’s treasury secretary, according to the report. In a call set up between the two, Epshteyn said he was “Boris F—ing Epshteyn” and that Bessent should have paid for his services sooner, according to the person familiar with the legal findings. He later confronted Bessent in person at Mar-a-Lago in what witnesses believed to be an intimidating way, the legal review found, in an exchange that was viewed by multiple Trump allies.
A spokeswoman for Bessent declined to comment.
Soon after the election, Epshteyn also approached a former Trump administration employee who now works as a defense contractor, according to the legal review. He tried to get the contractor to pay him $100,000 per month through the transition period, according to a person familiar with the findings.
Epshteyn told the contractor that he knew who to talk to at the Defense Department, and the contractor’s business depended on it, according to the findings.
The contractor declined, saying the proposal made him uncomfortable, and spoke to the lawyers conducting the review, people familiar with the matter said.
Epshteyn worked for Trump following the 2020 presidential election and was indicted in Arizona for his role in organizing Republican electors to falsely attest that Trump won the state in 2020. He pleaded not guilty. He was also arrested in Arizona in an unrelated matter in 2021, eventually pleading guilty to drunk and disorderly conduct.
He has subsequently led the president’s legal team in recent years as Trump has faced multiple criminal indictments. Yet he has been a polarizing force in Trump’s orbit – accumulating many enemies while keeping close ties with Trump himself. He demanded all the president’s other lawyers work through him, and some have chafed at his actions.
Since the November election, Epshteyn has played a large role in Trump’s presidential transition, spending hours of the day at Mar-a-Lago and recommending candidates for jobs. Epshteyn has extensive access to Trump’s daily schedule and thoughts about policies and personnel, giving him potential value to other political candidates and business interests.
His suggestions included former House member Matt Gaetz as attorney general. Gaetz withdrew from consideration last week, saying he did not want to be a distraction to Trump due to potential opposition to his confirmation. Epshteyn often calls Trump repeatedly, delivering positive news, others close to Trump have said. “He is the good news fairy,” a top Trump adviser said.
But many of Trump’s advisers have grown skeptical of Epshteyn during the transition because he has made recommendations for jobs that are seemingly far afield of his legal responsibilities. At times, others have tried to keep Epshteyn out of meetings, The Washington Post has reported.
His consulting firm has been hired by Republican campaigns including Blake Masters for Congress in Arizona, Eric Greitens for Senate in Missouri and Don Bolduc for Senate in New Hampshire, according to campaign finance reports.
