Bankrupt former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is facing demands to provide evidence supporting his claim that his former client, Donald Trump, owes him millions of dollars in unpaid legal fees.
Attorneys representing the Committee of Unsecured Creditors, which represents individuals and entities to whom Giuliani owes money, filed a motion in bankruptcy court seeking access to Giuliani’s personal and business financial records. This move aims to uncover any documentation supporting Giuliani’s assertion that Trump owes him money for legal services rendered.
Giuliani previously stated during a February hearing that Trump owes him $2 million for his efforts to challenge the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. However, the nature of the agreement between Giuliani and Trump was described as informal, with Giuliani referring to it as a “word-of-mouth situation.” This verbal agreement raises questions about whether Trump, the Trump campaign, and/or the Republican National Committee are responsible for Giuliani’s alleged unpaid fees.
In the recent court filing dated March 7th, the committee requested access to all documents and communications related to any claims for unpaid legal fees against Donald J. Trump. This indicates the committee’s intent to gather evidence to potentially pursue litigation against Trump on behalf of Giuliani and other creditors.
The filing also requested evidence to “identify the nature of any legal services that you have performed, or continue to perform,” for the former president.
While the former mayor claimed he was never paid his wages, he has said he was paid for some — but not all — of his expenses. If he is able to produce these communications and documentation, it could serve as a clue as to which entity or individual owes Mr Giuliani the rest of the alleged unpaid amount.
The attorneys explained their requests, citing “substantial doubt” over “Giuliani’s willingness and ability to comply fully with his disclosure obligations in the Chapter 11 Case.”
They underscored that “Giuliani has alleged that he has approximately $10.6 million of assets, which amount is dwarfed by nearly $153 million in liabilities.”
Due to the “magnitude” of these liabilities, the former mayor “has substantial motivation to continue his historical pattern of financial obfuscation and discovery misconduct,” which is why it is seeking “formal authority” to seek this information from Mr Giuliani, the lawyers wrote.
The Independent previously reported that others had knowledge of a verbal agreement between the two men or had overheard it. Giuliani associate Maria Ryan sent an email, obtained by The New York Times in 2021, that was reportedly sent to Trump campaign officials and suggested that Mr Giuliani was going to be paid $20,000 a day for his work. The email reportedly claims that Mr Giuliani began working on election litigation on 4 November 2020 – one day after Election Day.
The $2m figure seems to equal the $20,000 day rate over a three-month span, from the November 2020 election, when Mr Giuliani led efforts to overturn the election, through to February 2021, when Trump adviser Jason Miller said Mr Giuliani is “not currently representing President Trump in any legal matters.”
Any legal action Mr Giuliani is forced to take by the bankruptcy court against his close ally Mr Trump appears to go against his personal wishes, with Ted Goodman, Mr Giuliani’s political advisor, previously telling The Independent “Mayor Giuliani will not be suing President Trump.” A spokesperson for Mr Giuliani did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the new court filing, another step in the committee forcing Mr Giuliani to do just that.