Insider exposes Trump's secret weapon —and the Russian-born operative at its core

President Donald Trump's biographer, Michael Wolff, flagged one of the most important lawyers who isn't working anywhere in government, but still seems to be in the meetings.

In a new Substack post, the author and researcher explained that he is appealing his First Amendment suit against the first lady. One new detail in the case, he added, is that he believes the suit is actually being overseen by his team at the White House.

"This should not, perhaps, come as a particular surprise. But it offers another insight into Trump law, and Trump justice, and litigation as another arm of Trump’s command-and-control tactics," wrote Wolff on Wednesday.

He promised that one day someone would write a book that would detail all of the ways that Trump has scored so many legal wins as a result of "guerrilla lawfare." One of those key ways he's done it is with one of his legal loyalists.

"This strategy for his personal, business, and, in the last decade, political life, is often credited to Roy Cohn. But really, it is a reflection of Trump’s own sense of constant combat and his belief that there is always an advantage to gain, that delay is as nearly good as victory, and that you don’t need to worry about the future if you live another day," Wolff continued.

The move is having lawyers dedicated to his every legal whim, whether or not it's respectful of a court's rules or norms. At the Justice Department today, Wolff said, the staff is made up of "lawyers who have decided to sacrifice their careers for Trump."

His personal lawyer, Todd Blanche, who has been nominated to be the attorney general, being the main one. But it extends to all assistant U.S. attorneys around the country as well as Trump-appointed judges, Wolff said.

Behind all of that, he said, is Boris Epshteyn, "a 43-year-old Russian émigré." While he has run his own law practice for a few years, he's been spending a lot of time at the White House lately, according to a new book by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan.

Behind the scenes, some of those in Trump’s inner circle see Epshteyn "as odd and suspect, someone always trying to get around them to get to Trump."

While he briefly worked for the White House, he didn't last more than a few weeks, but he's remained in Trump's good graces, "albeit with his name spelled wrong on Trump’s phone." He became part of those trying to adjust the Arizona election results in 2020 and ultimately joined with Rudy Giuliani, coordinating efforts with state electors.

As Trump's legal problems grew after leaving office, Wolff said that Epshteyn became "his key legal confidant," often on the phone with him ten times a day.

"[Epshteyn is] hated by Trump’s staff, under constant threat (and constant media rumors) of his own indictment, caught on a police cam sitting in a gutter in Scottsdale, Arizona having been arrested for allegedly drunkenly pawing girls at the Bottled Blonde Pizzeria and Beer Garden," wrote Wolff, adding that chief of staff Susie Wiles is an Epshteyn foe.

Epshteyn works solely for Trump, said Wolff. "Yet, even outside the White House, Epshteyn arguably holds the single most influential legal portfolio in Trump world, including an effective partnership with Blanche, now Trump’s nominee for Attorney General. Indeed, there is little in the Justice Department, or among the various federal prosecutors around the country, or involving Trump’s own vendettas, threats, and grievances, in which Epshteyn is not closely engaged."

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