Donald Trump offered to pay lawyer owed $2 million with a horse, new book claims

According to a new book on Donald Trump’s contentious relationship with legal firms that have represented him over the years, the former president attempted to fend off an angry unpaid attorney by offering to give him the deed to a horse Trump owned — in lieu of approximately $2 million in legal fees.

The Guardian’s Martin Pengelly reports that the book, “Servants of the Damned: Giant Law Firms, Donald Trump and the Corruption of Justice” by the New York Times’ David Enrich details an awkward face-to-face Trump had with the attorney who was reportedly flabbergasted and furious by the horse offer.

As the book details, the unnamed lawyer was owed $2 million for legal services provided to Trump before he became president which led to a surprise confrontation at Trump Tower where the attorney from a high-profile firm reportedly exclaimed, “‘I’m incredibly disappointed. There’s no reason you haven’t paid us.'”

As Enrich wrote, “Trump made some apologetic noises. Then he said: ‘I’m not going to pay your bill. I’m going to give you something more valuable.’ What on earth is he talking about? the lawyer wondered. ‘I have a stallion,’ Trump continued. ‘It’s worth $5m.’ Trump rummaged around in a filing cabinet and pulled out what he said was a deed to a horse. He handed it to the lawyer.”

According to the book, Trump’s offer was not well received and was instead met with a threat of a lawsuit.

Trump, in turn, relented with the book stating that Trump “eventually coughed up at least a portion of what he owed.”

You can read more here.