Mr Bush’s hire of Marshall Grossman, one of the fiercest and most-respected lawyers in Los Angeles, suggests he is willing to litigate against NBC if he is unable to reach a deal with the network. The now notorious tape shows Mr Trump making misogynistic and predatory comments about women, while Mr Bush laughs and encourages him.

Couldn’t challenge 

Mr Grossman, whose clients have included Steven Spielberg and Clint Eastwood, declined to comment on the status of the negotiation. But he defended his client’s role in the tape, saying that as an NBCUniversal employee interviewing an NBC star in The Apprentice's Mr Trump, he wasn't in a position to challenge his interview subject.  ‘If Billy had been passive or responded 'Shut the f— up' to Trump, Billy would have been out of a job the next day,’ he told The Hollywood Reporter Negotiations resumed last Thursday between the network and Mr Bush over the terms of his exit.