Highlights:
2012: Law Firm Levine Staller Saved Trump’s Companies $50 Million In Overpaid Taxes And Future Liabilities. According to Mother Jones, “In 2008, the law firm Levine Staller began filing tax appeals for the Trump Taj Mahal, Trump Plaza, and Trump Marina. Its work saved Trump’s company lots of money: In 2012, Levine Staller won a settlement that returned $35 million in overpaid taxes and cut $15 million from the company’s future liabilities, leading to a total savings of $50 million for the corporation. Trump agreed to pay $7.25 million to the law firm in legal fees, but then only paid Levine Staller $6 million before trying to claim the rest as unsecured debt in ongoing bankruptcy proceedings. In response, Levine Staller sued its former client, Trump Entertainment, and in 2014, a judge rejected Trump Entertainment’s request to be absolved of this debt and told the company to pay up.” [Mother Jones, 3/28/16]
Trump Agreed To Pay The Firm $7.25 Million, But Only Paid $6 Million, And Tried To Claim The Final $1.25 Million As Unsecured Debt In Bankruptcy Proceedings. According to Mother Jones, “In 2008, the law firm Levine Staller began filing tax appeals for the Trump Taj Mahal, Trump Plaza, and Trump Marina. Its work saved Trump’s company lots of money: In 2012, Levine Staller won a settlement that returned $35 million in overpaid taxes and cut $15 million from the company’s future liabilities, leading to a total savings of $50 million for the corporation. Trump agreed to pay $7.25 million to the law firm in legal fees, but then only paid Levine Staller $6 million before trying to claim the rest as unsecured debt in ongoing bankruptcy proceedings. In response, Levine Staller sued its former client, Trump Entertainment, and in 2014, a judge rejected Trump Entertainment’s request to be absolved of this debt and told the company to pay up.” [Mother Jones, 3/28/16]
Levine Staller Sued Trump After His Company Tried To Pay Levine Staller $1.25 Million Less Than It Was Owed. According to Mother Jones, “As our own Hannah Levintova reported in March, the Atlantic City law firm of Levine Staller saved one of Trump’s companies tens of millions of dollars in taxes—and then sued the company, Trump Entertainment, after the business tried to pay Levine Staller $1.25 million less than the firm was owed.” [Mother Jones, 8/18/20]
2014: A Judge Ruled For Levine Staller. According to Mother Jones, “In 2008, the law firm Levine Staller began filing tax appeals for the Trump Taj Mahal, Trump Plaza, and Trump Marina. Its work saved Trump’s company lots of money: In 2012, Levine Staller won a settlement that returned $35 million in overpaid taxes and cut $15 million from the company’s future liabilities, leading to a total savings of $50 million for the corporation. Trump agreed to pay $7.25 million to the law firm in legal fees, but then only paid Levine Staller $6 million before trying to claim the rest as unsecured debt in ongoing bankruptcy proceedings. In response, Levine Staller sued its former client, Trump Entertainment, and in 2014, a judge rejected Trump Entertainment’s request to be absolved of this debt and told the company to pay up.” [Mother Jones, 3/28/16]
Morrison Cohen LLP Of New York City Represented Trump In A Suit Against A Contractor Who Trump Claimed Had Overcharged For Work On A Golf Club. According to USA Today, “One law firm that fought contractors over payments and other issues for Trump — New York City’s Morrison Cohen LLP — ended up on the other side of a similar battle with the mogul in 2008. Trump didn’t like that its lawyers were using his name in press releases touting its representation of Trump in a lawsuit against a construction contractor that Trump claimed overcharged him for work on a luxury golf club.” [USA Today, 4/25/18]
Morrison Cohen Used Trump’s Name In Press Releases On Its Work In The Case. According to USA Today, “One law firm that fought contractors over payments and other issues for Trump — New York City’s Morrison Cohen LLP — ended up on the other side of a similar battle with the mogul in 2008. Trump didn’t like that its lawyers were using his name in press releases touting its representation of Trump in a lawsuit against a construction contractor that Trump claimed overcharged him for work on a luxury golf club.” [USA Today, 4/25/18]
Trump Sued Morrison Cohen. According to USA Today, “As Trump now turned his ire on his former lawyers, however, Morrison Cohen counter-sued. In court records, the law firm alleged Trump didn’t pay nearly a half million dollars in legal fees. Trump and his ex-lawyers settled their disputes out of court, confidentially, in 2009.” [USA Today, 4/25/18]
Morrison Cohen Counter-Sued And Alleged That Trump Did Not Pay Nearly A Half Million Dollars In Legal Fees. According to USA Today, “As Trump now turned his ire on his former lawyers, however, Morrison Cohen counter-sued. In court records, the law firm alleged Trump didn’t pay nearly a half million dollars in legal fees. Trump and his ex-lawyers settled their disputes out of court, confidentially, in 2009.” [USA Today, 4/25/18]
2009: Trump Settled With Morrison Cohen Confidentially Out Of Court. According to USA Today, “As Trump now turned his ire on his former lawyers, however, Morrison Cohen counter-sued. In court records, the law firm alleged Trump didn’t pay nearly a half million dollars in legal fees. Trump and his ex-lawyers settled their disputes out of court, confidentially, in 2009.” [USA Today, 4/25/18]
Fort Lauderdale Attorney William Scherer Recovered $5,000 In Fees In Small Claims Court That Trump Owed His Firm. According to Reuters, “Only one lawyer Reuters interviewed, Fort Lauderdale attorney William Scherer, claimed a victory over Trump. He won a suit in Palm Beach County small-claims court in 1994 to recover $5,000 Trump owed him for some work Scherer’s firm had done for the real estate mogul in Florida. Scherer said he had already offered Trump a reduced rate “to curry favor with him,” which was why he pursued such a small sum when Trump declined to pay.” [Reuters, 11/13/15]
The Trump Corporation Hired Richmond-Area Lawyer David Hopper To Represent It Against Bank Of America In A Land Rights Skirmish. According to the Washingtonian, “On top of that, The Donald had found himself another adversary. His company had hired Richmond-area lawyer David Hopper to represent it against Bank of America in the land-rights skirmish.’” [Washingtonian, 10/5/15]
Months Into Representing Trump, Hopper Withdrew Over Nearly $95,000 In Unpaid Bills. According to the Washingtonian, “On top of that, The Donald had found himself another adversary. His company had hired Richmond-area lawyer David Hopper to represent it against Bank of America in the land-rights skirmish. But a few months into the matter, Hopper asked the judge to let him withdraw from the case. Why? Trump apparently didn’t want to pay full price for his lawyer, either. Hopper alleged that nearly $95,000 in bills went unpaid-a significant sum for his small firm.” [Washingtonian, 10/5/15]
Hopper’s Firm Cook, Heyward, Lee, Hopper & Feehan Sued The Trump Organization For $94,511 In Unpaid Legal Fees. According to USA Today, “In 2012, Virginia-based law firm Cook, Heyward, Lee, Hopper & Feehan filed a lawsuit against the Trump Organization for $94,511 for legal fees and costs.” [USA Today, 4/25/18]
Hopper’s Suit Against The Trump Organization Was Settled Out Of Court. According to USA Today, “In 2012, Virginia-based law firm Cook, Heyward, Lee, Hopper & Feehan filed a lawsuit against the Trump Organization for $94,511 for legal fees and costs. The case was eventually settled out of court. But as the case unfolded, court records detail how Trump's senior deputies attacked the attorneys' quality of work in the local and trade press, leading the firm to make claims of defamation that a judge ultimately rejected on free speech grounds.” [USA Today, 4/25/18]
Hopper Said In A Statement That His Claim To Legal Fees Had Been Satisfied. According to the Washingtonian, “The suit was settled, and Hopper declined an interview to discuss the terms. But in a written statement, he said his ‘claim for legal fees’ had been ‘satisfied.’” [Washingtonian, 10/5/15]
2019: Former Trump Lawyer Cohen Sued The Trump Organization For $1.9 Million In Legal Fees. According to the New York Times, “Michael D. Cohen, the former personal lawyer and fixer for President Trump, sued the Trump Organization on Thursday. He accused the company of breaking a contract when it refused to pay about $1.9 million in legal costs after he began cooperating with federal prosecutors.” [New York Times, 3/7/19]
Cohen Sought Reimbursement For Further $1.9 Million He Was Ordered To Pay In Fines, Forfeiture, And Restitution. According to the New York Times, “Mr. Cohen is also seeking reimbursement for an additional $1.9 million he was ordered to pay in fines, forfeiture and restitution after he pleaded guilty to breaking campaign finance laws, evading taxes and lying to Congress, the lawsuit said.” [New York Times, 3/7/19]
Cohen Alleged That The Trump Organization Had Failed To Pay An Agreement To Pay Cohen’s Legal Fees And Costs For His Work With The Trump Organization. According to the New York Times, “The lawsuit, filed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, said that the Trump Organization had failed to live up to an agreement to pay for any legal fees or related costs Mr. Cohen incurred in his work with the Trump Organization.” [New York Times, 3/7/19]
November 2021: New York Judge Joel Cohen Dismissed Suit. According to CNN, “In another win for Trump on Friday, New York Judge Joel Cohen granted Trump’s motion to dismiss Michael Cohen’s 2019 lawsuit against his company. ‘Mr. Cohen’s legal fees arise out of his (sometimes unlawful) service to Mr. Trump personally, to Mr. Trump’s campaign, and to the Trump Foundation, but not out of his service to the business of the Trump Organization, which is the only defendant in this case,’ Judge Cohen wrote in his order.” [CNN, 11/12/21]
November 2022: A New York Appeals Court Unanimously Overturned The Trial Judge And Allowed Cohen To Sue The Trump Organization. According to ABC News, “Former President Donald Trump's onetime personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen can sue the Trump Organization to cover millions of dollars in legal fees, a New York appeals court ruled Wednesday. The unanimous opinion from the Appellate Division, First Department said the trial judge erred when he dismissed Cohen's lawsuit that sought indemnification for outstanding legal fees Cohen incurred in connection with the special counsel and congressional hearings, New York state attorney general and Manhattan district attorney proceedings, and the proceeding related to FBI search warrants.” [ABC News, 11/16/22]
July 2023: Cohen And The Trump Organization Agreed To Settle Cohen’s Lawsuit With A Confidential Agreement. According to the New York Times, “Michael D. Cohen, the longtime fixer to Donald J. Trump, who was set to go to trial next week against his former boss’s company in a dispute over legal fees, has agreed to settle his lawsuit with the Trump Organization, lawyers for both parties said at a brief court hearing on Friday. Mr. Cohen’s lawsuit, filed in 2019, accused the Trump Organization of failing to abide by the terms of a deal and refusing to pay more than $1 million in legal costs. Jury selection for the trial began earlier this week, and opening arguments were scheduled for Monday. But at the hearing Friday, a lawyer for Mr. Cohen, Hunter Winstead, and a lawyer for the Trump Organization, James D. Kiley, said that they had agreed on terms for a settlement. The settlement is not yet finalized and the details will be kept confidential. The judge in the case, Joel Cohen — who is no relation to Mr. Cohen — said that he would delay the trial pending a final agreement.” [New York Times, 7/21/23]
Several Attorneys That Headed Trump’s Attempts To Overturn The 2020 Election Tried And Failed To Collect Payment For Their Work. According to CNBC, “Several of the attorneys who spearheaded President Donald Trump’s frenzied effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election tried, and failed, to collect payment for the work they did for Trump’s political operation, according to testimony to congressional investigators and Federal Election Commission records. This is despite the fact that their lawsuits and false claims of election interference helped the Trump campaign and allied committees raise $250 million in the weeks following the November vote, the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot said in its final report.” [CNBC, 8/15/23]
Bernie Kerik Attorney Tim Parlatore Said That Trump And Giuliani Had A Handshake Agreement That Giuliani Would Be Paid For His Post-2020-Election Work. According to CNBC, “Among them was Trump’s closest ally, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Trump and Giuliani had a handshake agreement that Giuliani and his team would get paid by the Trump political operation for their post-election work, according to Timothy Parlatore, an attorney for longtime Giuliani ally Bernard Kerik. But the Trump campaign and its affiliated committees ultimately did not honor that pledge, according to campaign finance records. The records show that Giuliani’s companies were only reimbursed for travel and not the $20,000 a day he requested to be paid.” [CNBC, 8/15/23]
Shortly After Election Day 2020, A Giuliani Associate Emailed Trump’s Campaign Asking For $20,000 Per Day For Giuliani’s Work To Overturn The Election. According to the New York Times, “Rudolph W. Giuliani, former President Donald J. Trump’s personal lawyer, conceded on Friday night that an associate had sent an email to campaign officials asking that Mr. Giuliani be paid $20,000 a day for his work after the Nov. 3 election, but he insisted he was unaware of it at the time. Mr. Giuliani acknowledged in a brief phone interview that his associate, Maria Ryan, had sent the email shortly after Election Day. But he maintained that she consulted with another associate, Larry Levy, about what Mr. Giuliani should ask for from the campaign while Mr. Giuliani was out of town.” [New York Times, 1/25/21]
Trump Told Aides Not To Pay Giuliani’s Legal Fees. According to the Washington Post, “Trump has instructed aides not to pay Giuliani’s legal fees, two officials said, and has demanded that he personally approve any reimbursements for the expenses Giuliani incurred while traveling on the president’s behalf to challenge election results in key states. They said Trump has privately expressed concern with some of Giuliani’s moves and did not appreciate a demand from Giuliani for $20,000 a day in fees for his work attempting to overturn the election.” [Washington Post, 1/13/21]
Trump Told Aides He Did Not Want Giuliani To Receive “A Dime” Unless He Succeeded In His Efforts To Overturn The 2020 Election. According to the New York Times, “People close to the former mayor argue he was not working strictly on lawsuits, but also on research and efforts to keep state legislatures from certifying results Mr. Giuliani insisted were false. But Mr. Trump told aides he didn’t want Mr. Giuliani to receive ‘a dime’ unless he succeeded. Some of Mr. Giuliani’s expenses were eventually paid, but only after Mr. Trump personally approved the money.” [New York Times, 8/19/23]
Giuliani Had $3 Million In Legal Expenses Without Counting Giuliani’s Work To Overturn The 2020 Election. According to the New York Times, “Mr. Giuliani, 79, who was criminally charged alongside Mr. Trump this week in the election conspiracy case in Georgia, is currently sitting on what one person familiar with his financial situation says is nearly $3 million in legal expenses. And that is before accounting for any money that Mr. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City, might be owed for his work conducted after Election Day on Mr. Trump’s behalf.” [New York Times, 8/19/23]
Giuliani Said He Believed He Was Owed Millions For His Efforts To Overturn The 2020 Election. According to the New York Times, “To recover the millions of dollars he believes he is owed for his efforts to keep Mr. Trump in power, Mr. Giuliani first deferred to his lawyer, who pressed anyone in Mr. Trump’s circle who would listen.” [New York Times, 8/19/23]
2021: Giuliani’s Lawyer Robert Costello Began Reaching Out To Six Lawyers Close To Trump To Collect Legal Fees. According to the New York Times, “The effort to collect legal fees from Mr. Trump began in earnest more than two years ago. Mr. Giuliani’s main lawyer, Robert J. Costello, started calling people in Mr. Trump’s orbit, making the case that the former president was on the hook for legal fees Mr. Giuliani incurred because of his work for Mr. Trump. Mr. Costello has contacted at least six lawyers close to Mr. Trump, according to people with knowledge of the discussions, and most appeared sympathetic to Mr. Giuliani’s situation.” [New York Times, 8/19/23]
Giuliani And His Lawyer Asked Trump To Pay The Bills At A Dinner At Mar-a-Lago And Trump’s West Palm Beach Golf Course. According to the New York Times, “When that fizzled out, Mr. Giuliani and his lawyer made personal appeals to the former president over a two-hour dinner in April at his Mar-a-Lago estate and in a private meeting at his golf club in West Palm Beach.” [New York Times, 8/19/23]
New York Times: Trump Made A “Vague Promise” During The Dinner To Pay Giuliani. According to the New York Times, “Still, for the better part of a year, as Mr. Giuliani has racked up the bills battling an array of criminal investigations, private lawsuits and legal disciplinary proceedings stemming from his bid to keep Mr. Trump in office after the 2020 election, his team has repeatedly sought a lifeline from the former president, according to several people close to him. And even as the bills have pushed Mr. Giuliani close to a financial breaking point, the former president has largely demurred, the people said, despite making a vague promise during their dinner at Mar-a-Lago to pay up.” [New York Times, 8/19/23]
During The Dinner Trump Pointed Out That Giuliani Did Not Win Any Cases To Overturn The 2020 Election. According to the New York Times, “Yet he agreed to meet them again, two days later, at his private club, Mar-a-Lago, a meeting previously reported by CNN. Over a nearly two-hour dinner, Mr. Costello pressed Mr. Trump to cover not only Mr. Giuliani’s legal bills, but also to pay him for the work Mr. Giuliani provided Mr. Trump in the wake of the 2020 election. Mr. Trump resisted, noting that Mr. Giuliani did not win any of those cases. Mr. Costello, who did most of the talking for Mr. Giuliani, said that the money was not coming out of Mr. Trump’s own pocket, but rather the coffers of his PAC. By the end of the dinner, Mr. Trump agreed that Mr. Giuliani would be paid, one person said. But in the weeks that followed, neither he nor the PAC delivered. And Mr. Giuliani was growing more and more desperate.” [New York Times, 8/19/23]
Giuliani’s Son Visited Trump In New Jersey To Get Giuliani’s Legal Bills Covered. According to the New York Times, “When those entreaties largely failed as well, Mr. Giuliani’s son, Andrew, who has an independent relationship with the former president, visited Mr. Trump at his club in New Jersey this month, with what people briefed on the meeting said was the hope of getting his father’s huge legal bills covered.” [New York Times, 8/19/23]
Giuliani’s Companies Were Only Reimbursed For Travel And Not The $20,000 Per Day. According to CNBC, “Among them was Trump’s closest ally, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Trump and Giuliani had a handshake agreement that Giuliani and his team would get paid by the Trump political operation for their post-election work, according to Timothy Parlatore, an attorney for longtime Giuliani ally Bernard Kerik. But the Trump campaign and its affiliated committees ultimately did not honor that pledge, according to campaign finance records. The records show that Giuliani’s companies were only reimbursed for travel and not the $20,000 a day he requested to be paid.” [CNBC, 8/15/23]
2023: Trump Agreed To Cover A $340,000 Fee From A Data Vendor That Housed Giuliani’s Records, Which Save America Paid. According to CNN, “With his attorney in tow, Rudy Giuliani traveled to Mar-a-Lago in recent months on a mission to make a personal and desperate appeal to former President Donald Trump to pay his legal bills. By going in person, a source familiar with the matter told CNN, Giuliani and his lawyer Robert Costello believed they could explain face-to-face why Trump needed to assist his former attorney with his ballooning legal bills. […] Another source told CNN that Trump only agreed to cover a small fee from a data vendor hosting Giuliani’s records. And months later, Trump’s Save America PAC paid $340,000 to that vendor, Trustpoint, federal campaign filings show. CNN has now confirmed the payment was intended to settle Giuliani’s outstanding bill with the company.” [CNN, 8/16/23]