President Donald Trump on Monday denied a D.C. lobbyist’s claim that he has close ties to the president and his close allies, Politico reports.
The Washington Post recently investigated Michael Esposito’s firm Federal Advocates after it posted a large increase in revenue over the last year, including $1.6 million from the Chinese telecommunications company Huawei. In contract bids reviewed by the newspaper, Esposito claimed he had “an open line of communication to the President of the United States,” who he was in “regular” contact with, as well as Trump’s son Eric Trump and his son-in-law, White House adviser Jared Kushner.
“Many people say they know me, claiming to be ‘best friends’ and really close etc., when I don’t know these people at all. This happens, I suppose, to all who become President,” Trump wrote on Twitter Monday morning. “With that being stated, I don’t know, to the best of my knowledge, a man named Michael Esposito. I don’t like him using my name to build his consulting company, or whatever. Please advise his clients and Administration officials accordingly.”
Eric Trump added, “This makes two of us! I keep hearing this name (Michael Esposito) but have no idea who this person is... could I have met him, possibly but he certainly doesn’t have ‘direct line.’ If he ever worked on a Trump project, he didn’t make a lasting impression. Welcome to the swamp.”
Although Esposito serves on an honorary advisory board to the Republican National Committee chair, the RNC recently sent him a “cease and desist” letter accusing him of misrepresenting his connections to the group.
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