Two top Senate Democrats are demanding that potential appointees of President-elect Donald Trump be required to disclose any communications they had with longtime Trump adviser Boris Epstein. The allegations surfaced recently Epstein was seeking financial payments in connection with his efforts to secure government appointments.
“All nominees appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee should immediately act to maintain all communication with Mr. Epstein, provide those materials to the Committee in advance of his hearing date, and inform Mr. Should be prepared to testify regarding any discussions with Epstein regarding a potential appointment in the incoming administration,” Democratic senators Richard Durbin of Illinois and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island wrote in a Letter Shared with CBS News and conservative publications just news,
The letter was addressed to Republican senators Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Chuck Grassley of Iowa, and was also copied to Trump's transition team leader Susie Wills. It asks that senior Republicans require any Trump appointee who comes before the Judiciary Committee for confirmation to “preserve and present to the Committee any communications with Mr. Epstein.”
The senators wrote that “questions remain whether any nominees gave promises or other assurances to Mr. Epstein as a condition of their support.”
One transition source called the letter a “pathetic legal strategy.”
Epstein previously told CBS News that he was honored to work for President-elect Trump and that the allegations against him were categorically false.
“These fraudulent claims are false and defamatory and will not distract us from making America great again,” Epstein said in his statement.
Graham's office said it would defer to Chairman Grassley's comments on upcoming Judiciary Committee meetings. “Committee members will have an opportunity to ask the nominees questions on these issues when they come before the Senate for a hearing,” a spokesperson for Grassley said in a statement.
last week, The New York Times reported Lawyer David Warrington, who will be Trump's incoming White House counsel, reviewed the allegations against Epstein and concluded that Epstein had solicited payments from at least two people. The Times reported that Warrington recommended that Trump maintain his distance from Epstein.
Last month, CBS News reported that Trump's transition team was struggling with internal discord over Epstein's conduct regarding potential candidates for positions in the Trump administration. At least one Republican politician, the former governor of Missouri. Eric Greitens“Mr. Epstein's overall tone and behavior gave me the impression that I would engage in business dealings with him before advocating or suggesting my appointment to the President,” she alleged in a sworn declaration to the transition team.
“This created a feeling of uneasiness and pressure in my mind,” the declaration said. just news And shared with CBS News. Greitens and his attorney, Timothy Parlatore, certified the one-page document to CBS News.
Parlatore, which has been criticism of epstein In the past, CBS News confirmed that the announcement was submitted in connection with an internal investigation being conducted by Warrington, who also served as general counsel for the Trump campaign.
The Trump transition team confirmed that it has reviewed and now intends to move forward on the issue. As first reported by CNNTransition spokesman Steven Cheung said at the time, “As is standard practice, a comprehensive review of the campaign's consulting agreements has been conducted and other agreements, including Boris's, have been comprehensively reviewed.” “Now we are moving forward together as a team to help President Trump make America great again.”