According to a report submitted to Trump by several of his attorneys, Trump adviser Boris Epshteyn — the man who coordinated legal defenses in Trump’s criminal cases and has been a powerful figure in the Mar-a-Lago palace intrigue transition — asked potential appointees to pay him in order for him to promote them for jobs in the new administration.
Epshteyn’s shakedowns included Scott Bessent, from whom Epshteyn sought $30,000 to $40,000 a month to “promote” him for treasury secretary.
Another whom Epshteyn shook down was a defense contractor, from whom Epshteyn sought $100,000 a month, telling him that the payments would be “do or die” for the defense contractor’s prospects. The contractor did not hire Epshteyn and is fearful of retaliation.
The report concluded that Epshteyn’s proximity to Trump should be “terminated.”
Trump’s response to the report was, “I suppose every president has people around them who try to make money off them on the outside. It’s a shame, but it happens. But no one working for me in any capacity should be looking to make money.”
Epshteyn is currently under indictment in Arizona in connection with trying to overturn the 2020 election results.
Epshteyn has been at Mar-a-Lago since Trump’s election, and Trump has repeatedly sought his counsel on appointments. One of Epshteyn’s strong recommendations, The New York Times has reported, was Matt Gaetz for attorney general.
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Epshteyn was doing only what Trump himself has done — shaking down just about anyone who wants anything from him.
During the 2024 campaign, Trump shook down every one of his current appointees, seeking large donations with the understanding that they’d be in line for big jobs in the Trump administration. Elon Musk’s tab was $200 million. Stephen Bessent’s hedge fund donated at least $6 million.
This isn’t a new practice. Seeking to curry Trump’s favor, representatives of foreign governments have stayed at Trump hotels and played on Trump golf courses.
During the 2024 campaign, Trump proposed to Big Oil executives that they come up with $1 billion for his campaign, in return for which he’d roll back environmental regulations.
In his first term, Trump asked Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky to come up with dirt on Biden, in return for which Trump would release military aid to Ukraine.
Everything in Trumpworld is transactional. In his very first presidential debate, Trump boasted of paying politicians so they would do whatever he wanted. “When they call, I give. And you know what, when I need something from them two years later, three years later, I call them. They are there for me.”
Making money through connections with Trump is common. Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner has made a bundle in deals with the Arab petro-states to which he was Trump’s de facto emissary.
In Trumpworld, Epshteyn’s real mistake was not that he shook down prospective Trump appointees. It was that he failed to share the proceeds of his shakedowns with Trump.
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Robert Reich is a professor of public policy at Berkeley and former secretary of labor. His writings can be found at https://robertreich.substack.com/