Rudy Giuliani has reportedly asked Donald Trump to pay him $20,000 a day for his legal work now that the former New York mayor is leading Trump's post-election legal team.
Sources told the New York Times that Trump’s aides and advisors have rejected Giuliani’s request and that it’s uncertain how much he will be compensated. Ever since he began supervising the legal effort to overturn the election, Trump has endured a number of court losses and lawyers working on some of the cases have quit.
If Giuliani were to be paid $20,000 a day, that would make him one of the most highly paid lawyers anywhere. However, he denied seeking that much when asked by the Times. “I never asked for $20,000,” Mr. Giuliani said. “The arrangement is, we’ll work it out at the end.” He said that whoever said he requested that much “is a liar, a complete liar.”
As expected, people had a field day with the news of Giuliani’s alleged request, especially given his status as the internet's favorite whipping boy.
It appears that there is little hope that any of Giuliani’s few remaining cases will change the result of the presidential election, where Joe Biden won both the Electoral College and popular vote. Some allies of Trump believe that Giuliani might be pushing Trump to continue the legal battles because it would be a financial boon for himself.
The Trump campaign has been raising money for its legal-defense fund in order to continue its dispute of Biden’s wins in states like Pennsylvania—and his purported win in Georgia.
Giuliani is looking to be compensated for his work from Nov. 4, the day after the election, when Trump began alleging that he won, disregarding election results. He’s also claimed that he lost due to widespread voter fraud, ultimately encouraging his base to fiercely protest this past weekend in Washington D.C.