Trump Once Tried To Foot His $2M Legal Bill By Offering A $5M Horse, New Book Reveals

Donald Trump once offered to settle the retainer fees for a lawyer with a horse, excerpts from a new book show.

Donald McGahn, a former partner at law firm Jones Day and part of the firm's new team working on helping Republicans win elections, visited the ex-president at the Trump Tower before he launched his presidential campaign, according to a book entitled, "Giant Law Firms, Donald Trump, And The Corruption Of Justice," written by New York Times’ business investigations editor David Enrich, Business Insider reported.

McGahn met with Trump at his office on the 26th floor in February 2015 and had small talk, and midway through the conversation, the ex-president asked what he charged. The attorney reportedly said his hourly rate was $800.

Later that month, Trump mentioned that he had hired McGahn to show his seriousness in running for office. Jones Day received a check for $6,451.38 as the first payment from the Trump campaign on April 23, 2015, even before it could offer its services in earnest, according to the book.

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Later, when the bill came up to about $2 million, Trump reportedly refused to pay. The lawyer, who was losing patience, visited the ex-president at his office and made no bones about his displeasure at being shortchanged.

While being apologetic, Trump reportedly said, “I’m not going to pay your bill. I’m going to give you something more valuable.”

“I have a stallion. It’s worth $5 million,” he added. He pulled out a deed to a horse from a filing cabinet and gave it to McGahn.

The lawyer was left speechless and when he could gather himself from the shock, he refused to accept the horse, the book revealed. When the lawyer threatened to sue Trump, he agreed to pay at least a portion of what he owed.

Subsequently, Jones Day negotiated a regular retainer and strict schedule for the payment, according to the book.

Photo: Created with an image from Gage Skidmore on flickr