When Donald Trump got word that federal prosecutors were going to drop two cases against him on Monday afternoon, his first telephone call was to Boris Epshteyn, the adviser who had built his legal teams.
The call was to congratulate him and thank him for his work, according to two sources familiar with the conversation.
But it also sent another signal around the Trump universe: Boris had survived.
For two weeks rivals leaked details of his clashes with other members of the team at Mar-a-Lago.
And the sniping erupted into full public view on Monday with well-sourced stories that the Trump transition had investigated claims that Epshteyn was seeking money in return for his influence over top administration picks.
In particular, it probed whether Epshteyn had asked Scott Bessent, eventually picked last week for Treasury secretary, to pay him in return for floating his name with Trump and other key figures.
There was no allegation of criminal wrongdoing.
But insiders said they were furious that an adviser was allegedly offering his influence in return for cash.
Boris Epshteyn is Donald Trump’s top legal adviser and built the teams that defended the former president through four criminal cases during the past two years
Trump has been holed up at his Florida headquarters Mar-a-Lago since his Nov. 5 election win, building his White House and Cabinet ahead of January’s return to office
‘This is what pisses off the base,’ said one source.
In a public statement Epshteyn dismissed the claims as ‘fake.’
An affidavit obtained by DailyMail.com also raises doubt about some of the allegations.
Lawyer Gregory Roeberg described being in Epshteyn’s car on Nov. 14 in Florida.
Epshteyn appeared to be having a hands-free phone conversation with Bessent, who he said ‘abruptly altered the course of the conversation’ to tell Epshteyn he wanted ‘consulting.’
Roeberg said he understood that mean an ‘improper payment’ for help getting Bessent a post in the administration.
‘Mr. Epshteyn at that point in the conversation grew extremely agitated with Mr. Bessent and communicated that the subject being discussed was completely inappropriate at that point in time and Mr. Epshteyn expressed offense that Mr. Bessent would suggest that arrangement,’ he said in his signed statement.
‘Mr. Epshteyn used phrases like, ‘I’m Boris f***ing Epshteyn, you can’t buy me,’ among other such terms. The conversation, after briefly turning contentious, ended.’
The review was conducted by the transition team’s top lawyer David Warrington.
Lawyer Gregory Roeburg signed an affidavit, saying that he heard Epshteyn shut down a conversation about being taken on as a consultant
Epshteyn was at Mar-a-Lago on election night, seen here behind Trump, UFC chief executive Dana White, and SpaceX billionaire Elon Musk in a VIP area
Investor Scott Bessent on th e campaign trail with Trump, who last week tapped him to become his Treasury secretary
And, according to CBS News, it included a sworn statement by former Missouri Governor Eric Greitens.
‘Mr. Epshteyn’s overall tone and behavior gave me the impression of an implicit expectation to engage in business dealings with him before he would advocate for or suggest my appointment to the president,’ he said.
However, Greitens’ name often provokes sniggers among Trump loyalists. He was forced to resign as governor amid multiple scandals.
He was accused of invasion of privacy after a 2015 affair in which his former hairdresser claimed he tied her, forced her to have oral sex and threatened to blackmail her with photos. All the charges were eventually dropped, but it was enough to derail the career of a rising star.
When the Trump transition issued its verdict from the review, the statement was surprisingly bland.
‘As is standard practice, a broad review of the campaign’s consulting agreements has been conducted and completed, including as to Boris, among others,’ said transition
‘We are now moving ahead together as a team to help President Trump Make America Great Again.’
At around the same time, suggestions that Epshteyn was to be sidelined appeared to evaporate when Special Council Jack Smith announced he was dropping two legal cases: One involving Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, and one centered on government documents found at Mar-a-Lago.
Trump quickly thanked his top legal adviser, who had built the teams that defended him in court, and put into practice a strategy of deny, deflect and delay that kept him out of jeopardy until the time he would take over the Department of Justice.
Epshteyn is seen here with Trump’s legal team in the Manhattan Federal Courthouse in New York during the former president’s arraignment in April 2023
Epshteyn was ever present during Trump’s hush money trial in New York this year
‘Boris has done this longer than a lot of these other faces and will be around long after they’ve gone,’ said a former Trump administration official.
Another said: ‘We’re all moving on.’
The struggle also illustrates how the cohesion of team Trump has weakened after Election Day. Without the shared struggle to defeat first Joe Biden and then Kamala Harris, some of the old divisions that plagued Trump’s first term have resurfaced.
Epshteyn knows the dangers more than most. He arrived in the early days of the first Trump campaign, after getting to know Eric Trump during their shared time at Georgetown University.
He was one of the loyal advisers who stuck with Trump during his exile years at Mar-a-Lago after the 2020 election defeat and Jan. 6 violence.
He was instrumental in building the legal teams that defended Trump in four criminal cases relating to the election, government documents found at his Florida home, and a hush money case.
That has given him a special place in Trump world, where the president-elect’s favor can at times be mercurial.
Since the Nov. 5 election victory he has succeeded in placing two allies into key positions. Todd Blanche, from Trump’s New York legal team, was named deputy attorney general, although his other pick, Matt Gaetz, withdrew from consideration to be U.S. A.G. after eight turbulent days.
And his star should have been at its highest on Monday, when Special Council Jack Smith announced that he was dropping two federal cases against Trump.
Instead, he was fighting off the latest round of briefing against him in a sign of how Trump world is fragmenting.
‘Boris is a cockroach, despised by everyone,’ said a source. ‘He blatantly sells access and jobs.’
Insiders described rival spheres of influence competing at times for Trump’s attention.
Epshteyn is one of the survivors from Trump’s first term. He is seen here with other advisers at Ohio State University in November, 2016
Epshteyn with Matt Gaetz, who stepped down last week as Trump’s nominee for attorney general as it became clear he faced a difficult confirmation
Trump supporters gathered at the causeway leading to Mar-A-Lago
One is made up of the MAGA hardcore, led by Trump’s eldest son Don Jr., and includes Vice President elect J.D. Vance and ideological warrior Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News host.
On the other side are the more conventional figures, led by Trump’s White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, along with her trusted campaign lieutenants, as well as transition head Howard Lutnick, who is chief executive of financial firm Cantor Fitzgerald.
Then there are the free floaters such as Epshteyn and billionaire Elon Musk, who has taken on an increasingly visibly position as the self-proclaimed ‘first buddy,’ and who rely on their direct relationship with Trump for influence.
Those two clashed last week amid reports that the Trump campaign’s coherence was starting to break down in the scramble for jobs.
This week, Trump responded to the allegations against Epshteyn with a weary statement that only one person made decisions about personnel, and it wasn’t one of his aides.
‘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,’ he told Just The News.
‘But no one working for me in any capacity should be looking to make money. They should only be here to Make America Great Again.’
