The Trump lawyer who wields outsize influence on the next White House

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump was flying to Washington for his first face-to-face meeting with President Joe Biden since winning the election when a top aide offered a startling idea to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine.

The adviser, Boris Epshteyn, who coordinated the legal defenses in Trump’s criminal cases, suggested to the president-elect that he should be Trump’s special envoy for the Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to four people briefed on what took place.

Epshteyn, who was born in Russia and lived there as a child, has no experience in foreign policy. He told the group that he had family on both sides of the conflict.

Several people on the plane appeared shocked at the idea of appointing Epshteyn to a sensitive diplomatic post, according to the people briefed on the matter. In addition to his lack of diplomatic experience, he is currently under indictment in Arizona along with several other Trump allies for their efforts to overturn the 2020 election with so-called fake electors. (A fifth person with knowledge of the events insisted people on the plane reacted well to the idea and suggested thoughts on how to structure such a move.)

But none of the people with knowledge of the incident disputed one key fact: The person on the plane who registered the least shock at the special envoy notion was the only person whose opinion ultimately matters. Trump listened with apparent interest and did not dismiss the proposal, even though he did not commit to it.

Whatever comes of Epshteyn’s idea, Trump has already given his adviser extraordinary power and shown a willingness to heed his counsel above that of others. Even the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, who has been in many transition meetings in the past week, has privately remarked at how surprised he is that Epshteyn has been granted so much authority.

The people who spoke for this article were granted anonymity to discuss private deliberations. Epshteyn declined to comment, and a Trump spokesperson did not respond to an email seeking comment.

Epshteyn, who left his role in the White House communications office in 2017 over what was described as an issue with his security clearance that has since been resolved, had told friends before the special envoy discussion that he intended to stay outside government as a counselor to Trump. And in Trump’s world, the lack of an official title has meant little in terms of measuring influence.

Although there are those close to Trump who despise Epshteyn, there is nobody in the president-elect’s orbit who at this point would doubt the level of his influence. He has quickly become one of the most powerful figures in the early days of the presidential transition, despite having no formal role in it. He has become a significant gatekeeper for Trump, including shaping some of the information he receives about personnel and Cabinet selections.

In rapid-fire succession over two days this week, Epshteyn assembled for Trump the Justice Department staffing he always wanted and felt he never got in his first term, even if confirmation battles loom. Trump, who has never respected the post-Watergate norm that the department should operate with independence, has a team stacked with loyal fighters and three of his personal lawyers.

Epshteyn, a physically imposing man who wears three-piece suits, has flexed his power in other ways as well.

While the incoming White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles, was traveling to and from a conference featuring some of Trump’s donors over the weekend and on Monday, Epshteyn finalized a push for Trump’s eventual pick for White House counsel, William McGinley, according to two people briefed on the matter.

And he ran one of his most audacious plays yet this week. He was a key behind-the-scenes advocate for Trump’s decision to announce Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida as his choice for attorney general. Epshteyn made his case aboard the round-trip flights on Trump’s airplane from West Palm Beach, Florida, to Washington on Wednesday, according to two people with knowledge of what happened.

Epshteyn had argued for other choices before that, including lawyer Robert Giuffra. But when Gaetz, who himself has been investigated by the Justice Department, emerged as an option, he pushed heavily for it, according to two of the people briefed on what took place.

Epshteyn is licensed to practice law in New York, although he did not renew his attorney registration within 30 days of his birthday in August this year as required by the Office of Court Administration, according to the office’s website. That meant a roughly two-month period in which he was not in compliance with state requirements; the court system typically grants grace periods and provides warnings before taking any form of disciplinary action.

After being contacted late Thursday for comment about the registration for this article, Epshteyn appears to have filed the required renewal.

Over the years, Epshteyn has called for an aggressive legal strategy for his boss. He was among the lawyers who encouraged Trump to delay his trials as long as possible, kicking them close to or beyond the election so that they would be politically impractical.

That strategy was difficult and expensive — the costs were paid by a political action committee Trump created in 2021, and it involved swamping the system with legal briefs. But it was ultimately successful in keeping Trump from being sentenced in the one criminal trial that did take place.

Whatever title Epshteyn is eventually given — whether it is “counselor” or “adviser” or something else — his influence inside government is built to last.

The key legal posts that Trump has announced so far for his second administration look remarkably similar to a list of suggested names for top administration lawyers that was compiled by some Trump advisers outside the formal transition process with input from Epshteyn. The list was obtained by The New York Times.

Epshteyn also helped influence a proposal, captured in a memo that circulated at the top levels of Trump’s orbit, calling for using private investigators for background checks on incoming staff members, bypassing the traditional FBI process, and then having the president-elect summarily grant most of them security clearances as soon as he takes office.

Officials have not said what their plan is for clearances, but several Trump advisers said they anticipated Trump availing himself of what was proposed for him to do.

One Trump adviser, who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation from Epshteyn, described the overall situation as “the United States of Boris.”