Trump lawyers investigate allegations that top aide sought financial gain from influence with president-elect, sources say

By Sara Murray, Kristen Holmes and Kate Sullivan, CNN

(CNN) — Attorneys for Donald Trump conducted an internal investigation into allegations that one of his top aides, Boris Epshteyn, has sought to gain financially from his influence with Trump and others in the president-elect’s orbit, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.

The internal investigation, which was confirmed by half a dozen sources and is not criminal in nature, has probed multiple instances of Epshteyn allegedly requesting payment in exchange for promoting candidates for administration positions or offering to connect individuals with people in the upcoming administration relevant to their industries, sources said.

In one instance he requested as much as $100,000 per month in exchange for his services, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Epshteyn’s alleged activities prompted those looking into the matter to make an initial recommendation that Epshteyn should be removed from Trump’s proximity and that he should not be employed or paid by Trump entities, according to two sources.

As of Monday afternoon, it does not appear the transition team will heed that recommendation.

“I am honored to work for President Trump and with his team,” Epshteyn said in a statement to CNN. “These fake claims are false and defamatory and will not distract us from Making America Great Again.”

The alleged behavior by one of Trump’s closest advisers hints at some of the turmoil and strife behind the scenes of the transition process as the president-elect and his team staff the incoming administration.

Epshteyn, long seen as one of Trump’s most loyal advisers, has played a significant role in the transition, sitting in on key meetings and candidate briefings at the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. But his presence has often been a divisive one.

A notorious Trump-world infighter, Epshteyn is known for his combative and loud personality, and often boasts about his close relationship with Trump, according to sources in and around the president-elect’s orbit.

In recent years, Epshteyn has acted as both an attorney and an adviser to Trump and – much to the chagrin of some more experienced lawyers in Trump’s inner circle– played an influential role in organizing his criminal defense strategy after the former president was indicted four times.

While Epshteyn has not been accused of illegal behavior, the decision to launch an internal investigation reflects the Trump team’s cautiousness around activity that could appear unsavory.

“As is standard practice, a broad review of the campaign’s consulting agreements has been conducted and completed, including as to Boris, among others,” Trump transition spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement to CNN. “We are now moving ahead together as a team to help President Trump Make America Great Again.”

In an interview with conservative outlet Just the News that published Monday afternoon, Trump said he did not condone the practice of staffers soliciting consulting fees from people seeking jobs in the administration.

“No one can promise any endorsement or nomination except me,” Trump said. “I make these decisions on my own, period.”

Source: ‘Very much pay-for-play’

Part of that investigation focused on claims that Epshteyn proposed that Scott Bessent, Trump’s pick for Treasury secretary, pay him to promote his name with Trump and others at Mar-a-Lago. Bessent did not make payments to Epshteyn.

CNN has reached out to representatives of Bessent for comment.

The back-and-forth between Epshteyn and Bessent resulted in a heated confrontation last week in the lobby of Mar-a-Lago, where Epshteyn raised his voice at Bessent, according to two sources briefed on the matter.

In at least one other instance, Epshteyn asked for payment in exchange for introductions and influence with the incoming Trump administration, according to two sources. Trump’s legal team was investigating several other similar alleged incidents, according to sources familiar with the situation.

The allegations concerning Epshteyn were brought to incoming White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN. It is unclear whether the allegations have been presented to Trump directly.

At times, Epshteyn has described the services he is trying to sell as a type of consulting, but the legal team investigating the issue has struggled to pinpoint any legitimate consulting work Epshteyn has provided, according to a source familiar with the matter.

“The way I see it is it’s very much a pay-for-play,” said one person who spoke to the legal team that investigated Epshteyn. This person described a separate incident in which Epshteyn allegedly tried to request payment for questionable consulting services, offering to connect the person with incoming administration officials relevant to their industry or lobbying firms that will be the most well-connected to the new administration.

The investigator assured the person that their interaction with Epshteyn wasn’t an isolated incident.

“It was like, ‘Hey, you’re not the only one,’” the person who spoke to investigators said. “He’s gone to everybody for it.”

One person close to Epshteyn brushed off the notion that this was pay-for-play.

“This is how Washington works,” the person said.

Allies of Epshteyn described the internal review as the product of newer associates not understanding the dynamic between Trump and Epshteyn as well as a disdain for the power Epshteyn wields with the President-elect. Epshteyn was a constant presence on Trump’s plane through the end of the 2024 campaign, often insisting on being present for conversations and briefings that had nothing to do with legal matters, a source close to Trump told CNN.

“Boris is a Trump original—loyal and effective from the very beginning,” a Trump transition official told CNN. “He works for President Trump, and nobody else, and has helped defeat the most vicious lawfare campaign in history. Boris has seen these petty skirmishes before, but he always perseveres.”

Lobbied for Gaetz

As the legal team’s investigation got underway, Epshteyn sent cease-and-desist-style messages to associates, claiming he had never demanded payment and threatening legal action, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Epshteyn has long been a fixture of the president-elect’s inner circle and has been part of key meetings with Trump at Mar-a-Lago during the transition period. He is often spotted at Mar-a-Lago eating dinner with the president-elect on the patio and has sat in on several transition meetings and candidate briefings, particularly related to Trump’s choices for the Department of Justice.

Sources described Epshteyn as responsible for pushing former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz’s name amid discussions about who Trump should pick as his attorney general. Epshteyn lobbied for Gaetz directly to Trump on a flight just hours before Gaetz was named as the pick.

The former Florida congressman later withdrew after it became clear he didn’t have the votes in the Senate amid the potential disclosure of a House Ethics Committee report detailing an investigation into Gaetz, including over allegations of sexual misconduct and other alleged crimes.

Confrontation with Musk

Despite a seemingly more orderly and quick process than in 2016, Trump’s transition this time around is still rife with the infighting that is typically on display in Trump’s orbit, multiple sources familiar with the matter tell CNN. Sources on the transition team have expressed frustration at how many people have Trump’s ear and how quickly a day’s progress can be undone.

Tensions between Epshteyn and some other members of Trump’s inner circle have escalated in recent weeks. Elon Musk, who has been by Trump’s side regularly since the election and has a growing influence on the president-elect, has questioned Epshteyn’s sway over Trump. The two also had a confrontation at Mar-a-Lago, with Musk leveling a number of accusations at Epshteyn, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

This year, the Trump campaign paid Epshteyn’s firm, Georgetown Advisory, $53,500 each month for communications and legal consulting, according to campaign finance records through October, the most recent month available.

Epshteyn briefly served in the first Trump administration as a special assistant to the president in 2017, but he has not been offered a formal role in the incoming administration.

Epshteyn stood alongside Trump during his arraignment in his New York hush money case and traveled with him for his arraignments in Georgia and Washington, DC.

Epshteyn himself faces criminal charges in a case in Arizona related to efforts to upend the results of the 2020 presidential election. He has pleaded not guilty.

This story has been updated.

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