"Do you want to be a minister? 50 million won per month!"...Trump's closest aide, suspected of 'hawk magic'

It has been alleged that a close aide to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump demanded a large amount of money from a person who is expected to be a minister in the next administration.

The New York Times (NYT) reported on the 25th local time that Trump recently ordered some trusted figures to investigate allegations of hawk magic surrounding Boris Epstein.

Epstein, Trump's longtime aide, is considered a heavyweight, with rumors that he recently clashed with Tesla CEO Elon Musk over personnel issues.

According to the sources, those who launched the investigation under Trump's direction concluded that "Epstein attempted to take bribes against those who wanted to join the Cabinet."

One of the people Epstein was trying to win the bribe was reportedly Scott Bessent, who was nominated for the next treasury secretary.

When Epstein learned in February that Bessent was interested in the position of Treasury secretary when the Trump administration was launched, he asked for $30,000 to $40,000 (about 41.9 million to 55.9 million won) per month.

He also gave Bessent, founder of hedge fund Kissware Group, a requirement to invest in his business.

Bessent rejected all of those demands, but reportedly kept pace with him as much as possible so as not to offend Epstein, Trump's closest aide.

On the 14th, just before the nomination of Treasury Secretary, Bessent called Epstein and asked, "Isn't he spreading bad stories about me to people around Trump?"

At the time, Epstein told Bessent that it was "too late to hire me" but that the camp's own investigation showed that he was "hiring for consulting."

Epstein also reportedly asked a defense contractor to pay $100,000 (about 139.9 million won) per month for consulting fees until the launch of the second Trump administration.

The defense contractor rejected Epstein's demand, but it was found to be concerned about retaliation.

Camp officials who investigated the alleged hawk-magic wrote a document suggesting that Trump should take steps to keep Epstein away.

However, Epstein claimed that the allegations of faltering were "fake claims and defamation."

Epstein has served as a senior campaign aide since Trump's first presidential bid in 2016.

Meanwhile, Trump said in an interview with a conservative Internet media that "every president has ever had people around him trying to extort other people's money, but this is shameful," adding, "My aides should never ask for money."