You love to see it. When someone like Rudy debases themselves to do dirty work for Donald Trump, a man famous for not paying people and turning on them when they’re no longer useful, this is the hoped for - and frankly should be the expected - outcome.
It’s funny though, I had read that Trump was wanting Rudy to represent him during impeachment, but maybe Trump read about efforts to get him disbarred and decided to burn that bridge now that it couldn’t do anything for him…
I’m continuously amazed by all the people shocked when Trump turns on them when they don’t do what he wants, or are no longer useful to him. (E.g. Pence, recently.) It’s clearly not because they don’t know who he is and what he does - that’s impossible to miss at this point. I can only assume it’s not because of their perception of him, but their perception of themselves. I.e. they’re so privileged, they’re so used to being treated a particular way, they can’t wrap their heads around the idea that Trump would violate the norms of their social environment such that he would treat them differently.
Like a human centipede Ouroboros? (That’s pretty much the description of the whole Trump administration and hangers-on, isn’t it?)
I did read something in the last few days that suggested that Trump finally realized he couldn’t (successfully) pardon himself, and now his attitude is “well, fuck everybody else.” I hope that’s true…
It appears that there’s disbarment by the courts and removal from the ranks of the NY State Bar Association, which doesn’t stop you practicing law; but normally the latter only happens after a lawyer has been disbarred legally. In Rudy’s case, they appear to be leaning towards making a very rare exception:
Yes, but disbarment would certainly be grounds for refusing to pay for legal services (even those already provided) and/or suing for legal malpractice.
I also understand that disbarment in one state is often grounds for disbarment in other states (though this is not necessarily automatic), and there are plenty of states where you do need to be a member of the bar association to practice law. (Via Wikipedia: Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia require membership in the state’s bar association to practice law there.)
So Rudy may have trouble collecting on the cases argued in those states, especially if those cases were argued so poorly that they directly contributed to the disbarment. Irony!
The article I read said he was getting paid $20,000 a day. I tend to think if it came to Rudy suing Trump for the money, he might have a hard time proving that “Four Seasons Landscaping” level representation is worth $20,000 a day. He was obviously not doing the job he was telling Trump he was doing.
I think at this point if any rational person had to choose between Ghouliani and a public defender, the smart bet is on the public defender.
Everything is always a negotiation (that someone has to “win”). So Rudy asks for $20k/day thinking that maybe he’ll actually receive $2k/day. And his client will think he “won” cuz, hey I only paid 1/10 of what he asked, and now there’s even a chance Rudy will have to pay him if he gets disbarred and he sues for malpractice.
The wording in the article says Trump instructed aides not to pay him, not to stop paying him. It’s possible he was working on spec this whole time.
Which, if true, is just more evidence of what a colossal assclown Giuliani is. Sure, some lawyers out there might represent a President for free for the prestige and publicity… but if anything Rudy’s antics completely destroyed any remaining shred of credibility or prestige he might have still had left over from his days as mayor of NYC. The man who once might have had a statue erected in his honor in Times Square* will spend his remaining years known as a pathetic punchline.
*Not that Giuliani ever deserved that kind of respect, but he once had it nonetheless
I would assume that Giuliani has been sending Trump (or perhaps the Trump Campaign or a PAC or someone) invoices for services rendered. I would also assume that these invoices have payment deadlines and that at least some of these deadlines have lapsed, which is probably what instigated the conversation in which Trump specifically instructed aides not to pay Giuliani.
Whether or not Donald Trump wins the election, lenders will expect his businesses to pay back an estimated $900 million in the next four years, an alarmingly accelerated timetable that involves more than twice as much debt as the president previously indicated. In order to emerge unscathed, Trump will likely have to engage in a series of high-stakes, big-money transactions—deals that could produce arguably the biggest conflicts of interest that an American president has ever had to face.
I assume Trump is now pivoting toward how to ensure that as much of the steal the vote PAC money they socked away can make its way into the family pockets; without triggering criminal charges; which is going to be a hard needle to thread. On the other hand they already have a lot of experience; having siphoned off massive amounts of campaign cash.
Screwing Guliani could be part of this.
