Boris Epshteyn, a long-time adviser to Donald Trump and member of his transition team, has been accused of seeking payments from people to promote them for roles in the incoming administration.
He has called the allegations, which were the subject of an internal investigation by Trump’s legal team, “false and defamatory”.
Former Missouri Governor Eric Greitens, a Republican, submitted a sworn declaration to Trump’s transition team making the allegations.
Epshteyn’s career with the Trump team started as a staffer during the president-elect’s run for office in the 2016 presidential election.
The New York Times reported Epshteyn played a role in recommending that former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz serve as attorney general.
Boris Epshteyn, a member of Donald Trump’s transition team and a longtime adviser, has been charged with extorting money from individuals in order to advance them to positions in the incoming administration.
Trump’s legal team conducted an internal investigation into the claims, which he has referred to as “false and defamatory.”.
After examining consulting agreements, the Trump campaign said in a statement that it is putting the matter behind it. The conservative publication Just the News broke the story of the investigation and charges first.
Epshteyn is a prominent member of Trump’s inner circle who has been seen on stage during Trump’s election victory speech this month and in court next to his boss during a criminal trial earlier this year.
Epshteyn has been charged in Arizona with conspiring to void the state’s legitimate 2020 election results so that Trump could stay in the White House following his defeat by Joe Biden.
In a sworn declaration, Republican former Missouri governor Eric Greitens made the accusations to Trump’s transition team.
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 wrote.
A copy of the declaration was acquired and verified by CBS News, the BBC’s news partner.
“I was worried about the ethics of what was happening, so it was important to me to protect the president,” Greitens told CBS News. The offer to advance a nomination in exchange for monetary payments particularly worried me. “.
According to CBS, Greitens reached out to Epshteyn for help while he was competing for a position as Secretary of the United States Navy. He claimed that if there was financial consideration, Epshteyn said he would think about proposing him for the job.
According to Greitens, this made him feel “a sense of unease and pressure on my part.”.
Epshteyn referred to the charges as “fake claims” in a statement refuting them and promised that they would not divert attention from the work of the incoming administration.
Trump’s transition team spokesperson, Steven Cheung, said in a statement that the team was “now moving ahead” after completing a “broad review” of the campaign’s agreements with Epshteyn and other consultants.
During an interview on conservative news site Just the News, Trump had alluded to the investigation and stated that he does not support staffers asking job seekers for consulting fees with his administration.
He declared, “I am the only one who can guarantee any nomination or endorsement.”. “I, alone, make these decisions. “.”.
After the two were Georgetown University classmates, Trump’s son Eric put his father in touch with Epshteyn.
During the president-elect’s campaign in the 2016 presidential election, Epshteyn began working for the Trump team as a staffer. He was given a junior communications post in the White House upon Trump’s inauguration.
He abruptly quit two months later. It’s unclear why.
He has remained a faithful and intimate confidant of the President, however.
Epshteyn has assisted in managing the president-elect’s legal teams as an adviser and lawyer to Trump.
Several of the legal battles have been successfully delayed and postponed by these teams, which have been in charge of several criminal cases involving the former president.
“Over the years that I’ve known Boris, I’ve never known him to be anything but a good human being,” Eric Trump stated in a Monday interview with Fox News.
He went on to say, “I sincerely hope the reporting is untrue, but I can also tell you that if it is, the person will most likely no longer be around.”.
The New York Times stated that Epshteyn was involved in suggesting that Matt Gaetz, a former congressman from Florida, be appointed attorney general.
After his Republican congressional colleagues resisted his nomination, Gaetz withdrew his name.
The US media says that some others have questioned Epshteyn’s intentions.
Elon Musk, the tech tycoon and billionaire who has joined Trump’s inner circle, has allegedly asked about Epshteyn’s impact on Trump.
In a confrontation with Epshteyn at Mar-a-Lago, CNN reported that Musk made a number of accusations against the longtime adviser.
In a case involving the overturning of the 2020 Arizona presidential election results, Epshteyn entered a not guilty plea to felony charges in June.
