Trump's legal fate hangs on man he thinks will 'say anything to please him': biographer

Trump biographer Michael Wolff published a deep dive into Boris Epshteyn — the attorney and former Sinclair Broadcast Group political commentator who has emerged as one of Trump's biggest sycophants, and, despite his lack of an official title in the administration, the man who could shape the president's legal future.

All of this comes as Wolff's legal team appeals a Trump-appointed judge's decision to toss the author's First Amendment lawsuit against first lady Melania Trump, who threatened him with defamation litigation to try to suppress his comments linking her to late billionaire sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein.

Epshteyn, argued Wolff, is the lawyer "who truly administers the Trump ethos," and stands behind all of the other attorneys in Trump's circle. His career includes a "formal practice of law ... limited to a few years," after which "he became a political operative, got involved with a questionable investment group, did work involving Russian investments, and emerged as an early talking head for Donald Trump in 2015, when few were willing to perform that role."

He has been behind the scenes in many legal battles, including Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Arizona, and his own personal lawyer, Todd Blanche, ultimately ascended to command Trump's Justice Department.

All of this, Wolff said, comes despite the fact that Epshteyn is loathed by many of Trump's other close aides, including Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. He is "regarded as perhaps the most abject of Trump toadies and sycophants — even by Trump himself, who jokes that Boris will say anything to please him."

"Trump did not want him to be a federal employee but, instead, to work solely for Trump himself," wrote Wolff. However, between Trump's trust and his ties to Blanche, "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."

Bottom line, said Wolff, "He’s Trump’s voice."