Why is this man standing next to Donald Trump – Boris Epshteyn – still Trump’s lawyer? It’s pretty much the same reason Melania Trump is still Trump’s wife.

Epshteyn may do lawyerly things around Trump while Melania does wife-y things but both are actually performing a whole other job: handler.

Boris is one of Trump’s handlers; so is Melania. The question: on whose behalf are they handling Trump? C’mon – it’s a loaded question. The answer: Vladimir Putin. Boris Epshteyn and Melania Trump have worked – and still work – as Trump’s handlers, managing Trump and his behavior for the one person Donald Trump dares not screw with: Putin.

Trump’s other lawyers all outclass Boris yet, according to The Guardian, Epshteyn controls “oversight of the legal work” and gatekeeping access to Trump. Why is that? Is Boris actually an unheralded legal genius?

Boris is Russian by birth. Born in 1982, he and his Russian-Jewish parents emigrated from Russia to New Jersey in 1993. Eventually, Epshteyn attended Georgetown University (he got his bachelors in Foreign Service degree there) and got his law degree from Georgetown U’s Law Center in 2007. With JD in hand, Boris worked on securities transactions, private placements, and bank finance. In 2008, Epshteyn entered the political realm; he became a communications aide with the McCain-Palin campaign.

And then either Epshteyn found his meal ticket or his meal ticket found him. In 2016, Epshteyn joined the  Trump campaign as a senior advisor. He made frequent television appearances as a Trump media surrogate on Trump’s behalf.

Wow. Talk about being in the right place at the right time!

In between working for Trump, Epshteyn got involved in a few other odd bits of business. He was managing director of business and legal affairs at the boutique investment bank West America Securities Corporation. While he was there, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority expelled the bank.

In October 2013, Epshteyn moderated a panel at the investment conference “Invest in Moscow!”. The panel was composed mainly of Moscow city government officials, including Sergey Cheremin, a city minister who heads Moscow’s foreign economic and international relations department.

According to Media Matters:

In September 2016, the media watchdog organization Media Matters for America criticized CNN, Fox News, and PBS for failing to disclose Epshteyn’s “financial ties to the former Soviet Union, which include consulting through Strategy International LLC for ‘entities doing business in Eastern Europe’ and moderating a Russian-sponsored conference on ‘investment opportunities in Moscow.’”

Hmmmmm… Boris had ties to the old country that he failed to disclose… Hmmmmmm…

I’m just going to lay down this marker here: before Putin took over running Russia, he ran what remained of the KGB. He was practically born a spy. Because he ran the KGB, Putin was able to blackmail Boris Yeltsin into quitting on New Year’s Eve 1999 and turning the Russian government over to Putin.

Putin can run spies in his sleep. He sure knows how to spot them and train them. Take Maria Butina. Yeah, sure, we caught her in the end, but before we did, she penetrated the upper levels of Republican leadership via the NRA. As we’re going to learn, Russia has penetrated virtually the entire GOP. It’s got them rooting against a democratic Ukraine!

But then, the GOP’s leadership nominated Trump despite knowing that 1) Putin had compromised him and 2) because of that, Trump posed a grave national security threat should he become POTUS. The GOP nominated him anyway. Then they stood by when Trump brayed “Russia, if you’re listening…!” knowing damned well that Russia was listening. Trump was their bought-and-paid-for intelligence asset. And the entire Republican Party was now his co-conspirator to commit treason.

Want to understand the strange hold Trump has over the Republican Party? That’s it! They are all his co-conspirators to commit treason. Not an iota of hyperbole in it.

Consider how hard the GOP has worked through the years to deny and obscure Trump’s (and their own) relationship with Russia and Putin. They’re covering their own asses. But they’ve always known “Putin pays Trump – swear to God!“

Everywhere you look – once you pull back the curtain on Republican World – there’s Russia! Who ran Trump’s campaign in 2016? Paul Manafort. Who did Manafort work for (and to whom did Manafort owe around $18 million? Oleg Deripaska – oligarch and member of Russian military intelligence.

Manafort used his job as Trump’s campaign manager to square his debt with Deripaska. Whatever Manafort did must have been worth at least $18 million or Deripaska would have shoved Manafort out a window by now. Manafort went to prison for handing Deripaska proprietary polling data on four states: Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

If you remember, Trump “won” by taking Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania – three states Hillary Clinton and the world assumed she’d win. Remember all that polling data? Russian intelligence fed it back to Black Democratic voters in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Ads popped up on their Facebook pages warning them that Hillary Clinton was a racist on the down low.

The goal: discourage Black Democratic voters from voting (by feeding them Russia-provided bullshit). But, Russia couldn’t have done what it did if the Trump campaign (via Paul Manafort) had not done what HE did.

But for Russia, Trump would NEVER have become POTUS.

Quick digression for bonus points. Remember who brought Mike Pence to the veepstakes? PAUL MANAFORT! Yeah – Paul Manafort insisted on Pence. The last thing on earth Manafort would have wanted in a veep was a boy scout who’d rat out his criminal enterprise. Manafort chose Pence because he isn’t a boy scout.

Like everyone else in Republican world, Mike Pence has secrets that others can turn into kompromat. And kompromat is Russia’s game.

Okay, so Russia gets its asset elected president by using America’s political system (and one of its two political parties) against itself. Pretty clever. Economical, too. Putin found a way to conquer Russia’s main enemy without having to fire a shot – and risk a “real” war. We have been on the losing end of a cyber war for almost a decade now.

Cyber war IS war.

Anyone who thinks you have to have bombs and bullets in order to call it a “war” is doomed to lose every war they ever fight going forwards.

None of this proves that Boris Epshteyn himself is a Russian intelligence asset. The intelligence world is rarely that straightforward. It’s all shadows and there are a million plus shades of grey.

Considering the time and effort that Putin put into his Trump project – and considering the amazing results he’s gotten (how many of our secrets did Trump give Putin?) – it wouldn’t exactly surprise anyone if Putin wanted to keep the good espionage times rolling for as long as possible. In other words, getting Trump into the White House wasn’t the desired end result. It was the means to the end result.

Getting Trump into the White House posed one set of challenges. Keeping him there (for as long as possible) posed another. A professional spy like Putin would want to moderate an unpredictable asset like Trump. Surround him (as much as possible) with calming or controlling influences. And (as much as possible) mitigate his unpredictability.

Also important: the calming, controlling influences need to look like they belong in Trump’s world. Having one as Trump’s lawyer would work! So would having one as Trump’s wife.

There were reports – after Trump’s victory – of Melania Trump losing her shit and screaming at Trump within earshot of many others. Tump had assured her he would lose, Melania raged. How the hell did Trump win?

Had Trump lost, Melania would have divorced Trump (if not over the Stormy Daniels affair then over any of a raft of other things). Does anyone believe that Melania Trump loves her husband in any way, shape or form?

While we’re at it, does anyone believe that Melania Trump loves America or loves the traditions of the presidency? How to explain Melania Trump accompanying Donald to the White House and becoming his “First Lady”. Consider all the (now infamous) looks Melania shot Don in public places!

Hey, remember “I really don’t care, do u?”

It’s hard to recall too many instances of Melania smiling (and I don’t mean the phony ‘smile for the cameras’ smile). There is one example of Melania cutting loose with a smile that says “I am soooo glad to see YOU!”

Funny irony? If there’s one thing Donald Trump knows how to do, it’s smile for a camera. But that smile he does when posing isn’t exactly sincere. What about when Trump’s being himself – and smiling genuinely. You know, like this –

Hey, look who Trump’s smiling at – like daddy was approaching: Vlad Putin.

What a coincidence.

I have no proof beyond the circumstantial. But I think my circumstantial paints a compelling picture based on reality.

With Trump out of the White House, Melania’s role has diminished. With Don-Don facing so much intense legal pressure, Boris Epshteyn’s role has grown. Team Trump’s goal is simple: “win” back the White House by whatever means necessary, pardon yourself and the whole treasonous conspiracy, then finish destroying America’s democracy.

I may never get to prove any of this. Or, the whole story will fall from the sky and land on us. I have a growing feeling I’m going to be right. The story will fall from the sky.

For the moment, most Republicans are marching in lock step (as they always do). But more indictments are coming. Some will land on Trump but most will land on other Republicans because they helped facilitate Trump’s attempted coup d’etat. A few will remain steadfast and loyal. The rest? They’ll rat each other out for fear the others will rat them out first.

That’s how criminals are.

Good thing Trump has a lawyer at his side. Good ol’ Boris Epshteyn! As Boris would put it, “I’ve got this ‘handled’.”