Theo’s Thoughts

Theo’s Thoughts

Backgrounder: Boris Epshteyn

Boris Epshteyn is the perfect specimen of the caliber of personnel in Trump's inner circle.

Nov 27, 2024
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Still image from body cam footage of Epshteyn’s 2020 arrest for allegedly groping two women in a bar.

Trump Transition Team “Advisor” Boris Epshteyn has been caught with his grubby hands in the cookie jar:

“President-elect Donald J. Trump’s legal team found evidence that a top adviser asked for retainer fees from potential appointees in order to promote them for jobs in the new administration, five people briefed on the matter said on Monday.”

— New York Times, Nov. 25, 2024

The New York Times soft-pedals their reporting by saying Epshteyn “asked for retainer fees.” Other media outlets have been far less charitable, calling it shakedowns or extortion. Whatever you call it, he is reported to have requested tens of thousands and even hundreds of thousands of dollars from people who were jockeying for positions in Trump’s inner circle.

One of the people that Epshteyn reputedly hit up for a payoff is Scott Bessent, the hedge fund manager and Trump’s nominee for Secretary of the Treasury. It…

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