Trump’s top ‘gatekeeper’ facing legal peril on multiple fronts: report
One of Donald Trump’s fiercest defenders is now facing legal troubles of his own in connection with his work for the former president.
Boris Epshteyn, a top Trump advisor who describes himself as the former president’s “in-house” counsel, has attracted the attention of prosecutors in multiple investigations, The New York Times reports.
His role in the Trump orbit is in the tradition of the fiery Roy Cohn, who served as Joseph McCarthy’s chief counsel during the 1950s senate over communism in American life.
"Epshteyn’s legal role with Mr. Trump, while less often focused on gritty legal details, has been to try to serve as a gatekeeper between the lawyers on the front lines and the former president, who is said to sometimes roll his eyes at the frequency of Mr. Epshteyn’s calls but picks up the phone," the New York Times wrote.
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He’s described by Trump spokesman Steven Cheung as “a deeply valued member of the team” who has “done a terrific job shepherding the legal efforts fighting” federal and congressional probes.
“As soon as anybody starts making anything happen for Trump overall, the knives come out,” former Trump advisor Stephen Bannon told The Times. He described Epshteyn as “a wartime consigliere.”
Investigators are looking into the role Epshteyn played in efforts to interfere with the transfer of power in the aftermath of the 2020 elections, and his work with Rudy Giuliani and in alleged plot to secure “alternate electors” with the intent of overturning his election loss to Joe Biden, in particular.
Epshteyn's role in the handling of classified documents and in a pro-Trump cryptocurrency in which he and Bannon were involved has also drawn scrutiny.
Epshteyn in September testified before a state fact-finding grand jury over efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia.