President-elect Donald Trump's transition team is battling internal discord over the alleged conduct of Boris Epstein, a senior and longtime adviser who at least one Republican politician has accused of personally benefiting from his ability to influence Trump. Accused of trying to lift. wardrobe Chooses.
Former Missouri Governor. Eric Greitens The transition team submitted an affidavit alleging that “Mr. Epstein's overall tone and behavior gave me the impression of an implicit expectation to engage in business dealings with him before advocating or suggesting my appointment to the President.” “
“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, it was confirmed to CBS News that the announcement was submitted in connection with an internal investigation that is being conducted by David Warrington, who served as general counsel for the Trump campaign. According to Parlatore, Warrington interviewed Greitens about his conversation with Epstein last weekend and then asked Greitens to submit a declaration. Warrington did not respond to a request for comment.
“It was important to me to protect the president because I was concerned about the morality of what was happening,” Greitens told CBS News. “In particular, I was concerned that nominations were offered to be put forward in exchange for financial payment.”
Epstein told CBS News that he is “honored to work with President Trump and his team.”
“These fraudulent claims are false and defamatory and will not distract us from making America great again,” Epstein said in his statement.
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, “As is standard practice, the campaign's consultation agreements have been extensively reviewed and completed, including those for Boris.” “Now we are moving forward together as a team to help President Trump make America great again.”
Epstein has been a near-constant figure at Trump's side in recent years, encouraging him on the air and helping coordinate his many legal teams behind closed doors. Those teams have had undeniable success, stopping two of Trump's federal criminal cases before they went to trial, and stopping a state case against Trump in Georgia. Trump was convicted in one case, which was heard in New York, but sentencing in that case was recently postponed indefinitely. On Monday, special counsel Jack Smith asked a federal district court dismiss The charges against Trump stem from an alleged scheme to thwart the transfer of power after the 2020 election, and they also sought to end his bid to revive the case against Trump. alleged misconduct Of sensitive government documents.
A native of Russia who moved to New Jersey with his family when he was 11, Epstein was brought to the Trump area by Georgetown University classmate Eric Trump. She started as a low-level staffer during Trump's first run for office and was able to work his way up to a junior position on the White House communications team. Two months later he resigned suddenly under unclear circumstances, but by then he had managed to win Trump over as his loyal confidant and fixer.
Eric Trump said in a Fox News interview on Monday that “I've known Boris for years, and I've never known him to be anything other than a good person.” But he also said the allegations could have consequences for Epstein.
Eric Trump said, “I certainly hope that the reporting is false and I can also tell you that if it were true, you know, that person would probably no longer be around.”
Epstein supporters praise his ability to execute orders and solve problems, which they attribute to manic energy, his bulldog personality and an astute understanding of the political dynamics of Trump's advisers. Epstein has become so close to Trump that the president-elect jokingly calls Epstein “my psychiatrist.” the new York Times First noted. According to multiple sources, Epstein's access to Trump was sometimes rivaled only by family members.
Ever since Trump won his second term as president, Epstein has been a mainstay in discussions about filling the Cabinet. New York Times reported Epstein played a key role in recommending former Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida to serve as Attorney General, a bid that ultimately failed to gain support and was withdrawn.
The status of Epstein's consulting business while aiding the transition is unclear. But before the 2024 elections, business was looking strong. A review of publicly available records shows his firm has been paid more than $1 million from Trump campaigns and aligned PACs since 2020, and $1.2 million by other campaigns.
While there's nothing new about political consultants — on both sides of the aisle — using his connections, interviews with nearly two dozen advisers, lawyers and associates of Trump reveal that Epstein's political consulting work drew praise. And has given rise to resentment.
CBS News spoke to more than a half-dozen Republican candidates who have engaged with Epstein. Many described his pitch as offering a range of services, including “strategic advice” on messaging and boosting the candidate's social media presence. But almost everyone interviewed said their access to Trump was fascinating.
With the 2022 Republican Senate primaries approaching, Don Bolduc wanted to make sure Trump didn't play spoiler by endorsing one of his New Hampshire rivals. Bolduc said he turned to Epstein “to run interference inside the Trump circle.”
Such service does not come cheap. “I thought $100,000 was a huge amount for what we were asking, but that's what was paid,” Bolduc said, adding that there was “no guarantee” given by Epstein that Trump would endorse any opponent. Will not do.
Bolduc won his primary election after Trump remained neutral. He told CBS News that although he felt he got what he paid for, the experience left him disillusioned with the transactional side of elections. After the campaign ended with defeat in the general election, Bolduc said he had decided to leave politics forever.
“There is nothing honorable in politics,” said Bolduc, a retired Army brigadier general. After being unsuccessful in his Senate race, Bolduc enrolled in a police academy and became a small-town rookie policeman at the age of 60.
Following the publication, Rick Wiley, a senior adviser to Bolduc's campaign, told CBS News that Epstein “was retained by General Bolduc's campaign for strategic media consulting with conservative media outlets, and he got the job done.”
Wiley listed three shows on which Bolduc appeared and said they “enabled his campaign to reach supporters and voters throughout New Hampshire and across the country.”
Among those who hired Epstein for his campaign services in the past was Greitens, who previously served as governor of Missouri during the Trump term. In the weeks after Trump won re-election, Greitens said he had contacted Epstein for assistance in considering an appointment as U.S. Navy Secretary.
“During the conversation, despite the absence of any explicit offer, Mr. Epstein's comments and conduct suggested that he might consider being offered a position in the administration in exchange for financial consideration, but such an offer would be a later discussion, ” Greitens wrote. “He said that 'there will be time for that later' and that 'there's no time for that right now.'”
Greitens wrote, “Mr. Epstein's overall tone and behavior gave me the impression that I had an implicit expectation to engage in business transactions with him before I could advocate or suggest my appointment to the President.” “It created a feeling of anxiety and pressure in me.”