in july, when donald j. trump lashed out at khizr khan, the father of an american muslim soldier killed in iraq, many republicans joined democrats in a kind of bipartisan show of horror. boris epshteyn was not one of them. he went on cnn to make the case that mr. trump<u+2019>s opponent, hillary clinton , had used mr. khan as a prop. <u+201c>we all know why the democrats had him there,<u+201d> mr. epshteyn said about mr. khan<u+2019>s speech at the democratic national convention, in which he attacked mr. trump for his views on muslims. <u+201c>it<u+2019>s to obscure the fact that hillary clinton and barack obama have failed at keeping this country safe.<u+201d> in august, mr. epshteyn was on fox news, reiterating mr. trump<u+2019>s claim that mrs. clinton was responsible for the birth of the islamic state. <u+201c>she<u+2019>s the one to blame,<u+201d> he charged. and last saturday, after the release of a 2005 video showing mr. trump making vulgar comments about sex and women, mr. epshteyn said that mr. trump<u+2019>s ensuing apology should end discussion of the matter. <u+201c>all of this is a distraction,<u+201d> he said on msnbc. <u+201c>you think the mothers of the benghazi victims think about this banter from 11 years ago?<u+201d> as mr. trump seems to shed defenders by the day, mr. epshteyn has emerged as one of his chief attack dogs and reliable talking heads on television, rivaling rudolph w. giuliani , the former new york city mayor, in his talent for getting mr. trump<u+2019>s counterattacks into the news media bloodstream. a lawyer and executive at an investment firm, he has appeared more than 100 times on major networks for mr. trump, his deep voice and receding hairline making him a recognizable recurring character in the reality-show-like drama of the 2016 election. offscreen, his role has also grown. recently, mr. epshteyn, 34, became a paid trump staff member, and he often helps lead a daily conference call for other surrogates in which they are given their talking points. nicolle wallace, who was a spokeswoman for president george w. bush, said she considered mr. epshteyn a friend and admired his political skills. <u+201c>he is everything you want in a surrogate because he believes in his candidate,<u+201d> said ms. wallace, now a political analyst for msnbc. others have found his manner, which can quickly accelerate from reasonable to aggressive to dismissive, off-putting. he also has let his emotions get the better of him. two years ago, mr. epshteyn was charged with misdemeanor assault in scottsdale, ariz., after a bar fight. the charge was dropped after he agreed to undergo anger management counseling and perform community service. <u+201c>boris takes a certain amount of delight in trying to bully the interviewer,<u+201d> said joy reid, the host of a show on msnbc, who has clashed with mr. epshteyn. <u+201c>he sees every night as combat and he goes in as very combative.<u+201d> three political commentators said in separate interviews that he often acted in a rude, condescending manner toward show staffers, makeup artists and others. the three, all of whom are opposed to mr. trump<u+2019>s election, spoke on condition of anonymity because they sometimes appear on air with mr. epshteyn. <u+201c>boris is abrasive,<u+201d> ms. reid added. <u+201c>that is who he is both on the air and off.<u+201d> mr. epshteyn said in an email that he absolutely disagreed with such remarks. <u+201d>i have utmost respect for all of the great people i have the pleasure to come in contact with,<u+201d> he wrote. a trump campaign spokesman, jason miller, declined to make mr. epshteyn available for an interview. <u+201c>boris epshteyn is a tireless and effective advocate for our campaign,<u+201d> mr. miller said in a statement, adding that he was <u+201c>a positive influence for those helping to change<u+201d> the country<u+2019>s direction. mr. epshteyn, who grew up in moscow, has written that he came to the united states in 1993 at age 11. he grew up in new jersey, where his mother was a real estate agent and his father worked as a project manager for a telecommunications company. after the 2013 death of senator frank r. lautenberg of new jersey, he praised the democratic lawmaker for backing a law that helped religious minorities like his russian jewish family emigrate to the united states. <u+201c>thank you, senator lautenberg, for helping open the door to america,<u+201d> he wrote in an opinion piece for u.s. news & world report. before this year, mr. epshteyn was a relatively minor player in republican politics. in 2008, he served briefly as a communications aide for the presidential campaign of senator john mccain of arizona. during the 2012 election, he appeared occasionally on television as a republican analyst. his ascent in mr. trump<u+2019>s campaign is tied to his friendship with eric trump, the candidate<u+2019>s second-oldest son. both men attended georgetown university and he was a guest at mr. trump<u+2019>s 2014 wedding. <u+201c>proud to call @erictrump a friend, speech was inspiring thoughtful and heartfelt,<u+201d> mr. epshteyn wrote on twitter after eric trump<u+2019>s speech at the republican national convention . mr. epshteyn also met his wife at georgetown, and the couple, married in 2009 , recently had a child. in his biography, mr. epshteyn describes himself as a managing director of a boutique investment bank. but his business career has not always been smooth. in 2009, he became vice president for legal affairs at a small financial firm, west america securities, in which his wife<u+2019>s uncle, charles j. newman, held a stake. by then, the company and its chief executive, robert b. kay, who was a longtime associate of mr. newman<u+2019>s, had a history of run-ins with regulators, public filings show. as a result of an episode involving mr. kay, the financial industry regulatory authority, a wall street regulator, took the unusual step in 2013 of expelling west america, effectively shutting it down. mr. epshteyn and mr. newman were not accused of wrongdoing in the matter. this summer, a texas company filed a lawsuit against mr. epshteyn<u+2019>s current investment firm, tgp securities. the company, sigma development corp., alleged that mr. epshteyn and his partner had accepted an initial $100,000 payment to help find investors for a disneyland-style theme park in houston, and then failed to deliver on promises. mr. epshteyn said in court filings that sigma paid only half of its promised fee before <u+201c>pulling the plug<u+201d> on the project. the lawsuit, which is continuing, said that in seeking sigma<u+2019>s business, mr. epshteyn had boasted about his clout in the republican party and frequent television appearances. <u+201c>epshteyn suggested that the plaintiff should google him and watch his videos,<u+201d> the filing states. that video stockpile is growing daily. on tuesday, after mr. trump said that defections by leading republican lawmakers had allowed him to take the <u+201c>shackles<u+201d> off his campaign, mr. epshteyn gave a preview on cnn of what lay ahead. <u+201c>he is free to be the candidate that he is, the candidate he truly is, you know, inside,<u+201d> he said. alexander burns and kendra szabo contributed reporting, and kitty bennett contributed research. find out what you need to know about the 2016 presidential race today, and get politics news updates via facebook , twitter and the first draft newsletter . a version of this article appears in print on october 14, 2016, on page a16 of the new york edition with the headline: on the counterattack all over your television screen. order reprints | today's paper | subscribe
the obscure lawyer who became donald trump<u+2019>s tv attack dog
barry meier susanne craig