Trump adviser accused of pay-for-sway scheme
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald 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 Monday.
Trump directed his team to carry out the review of the adviser, Boris Epshteyn, who coordinated the legal defenses in Trump’s criminal cases and is a powerful figure in the transition. Several people whom Trump trusts had alerted him that Epshteyn was seeking money from people looking for appointments, three of the people briefed on the matter said.
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David Warrington, who was effectively the Trump campaign’s general counsel, conducted the review in recent days, the results of which were described to The New York Times. The review claimed that Epshteyn had sought payment from two people, including Scott Bessent, whom Trump recently picked as his nominee for Treasury secretary.
According to the review, Epshteyn met with Bessent in February, at a time when it was widely known that he was interested in the Treasury post, and proposed $30,000 to $40,000 a month to “promote” Bessent around Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s estate in Florida.
Bessent declined.
Bessent then called Epshteyn on Nov. 14 to see whether he was criticizing Bessent to people around Trump, the review said.
The second person cited in the review was a defense contractor from whom Epshteyn sought $100,000 a month during the transition period. The contractor did not hire Epshteyn and is fearful of retaliation, the review found.
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