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

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

74% : 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.
56% : He has become a significant gatekeeper for Trump, including shaping some of the information he receives about personnel and Cabinet selections.
48% : 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.
41% : Trump listened with apparent interest and did not dismiss the proposal, even though he did not commit to it.
40% : 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.
39% : 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.
34% : 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.
34% : But it was ultimately successful in keeping Trump from being sentenced in the one criminal trial that did take place.
33% : 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.
28% : 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.

*Our bias meter rating uses data science including sentiment analysis, machine learning and our proprietary algorithm for determining biases in news articles. Bias scores are on a scale of -100% to 100% with higher negative scores being more liberal and higher positive scores being more conservative, and 0% being neutral. The rating is an independent analysis and is not affiliated nor sponsored by the news source or any other organization.