$150 Million And Counting: How Much Trump’s Attorneys Have Paid For Trying To Overturn The 2020 Election—As Giuliani Ordered To Post Bond
KEY FACTS
Arizona Bond ($10,000): Giuliani was ordered to post $10,000 bond on Tuesday as he was arraigned in Arizona on nine state felony charges and pleaded not guilty—while his other co-defendants were released without bond, according to Reuters—after the attorney evaded being served for weeks before prosecutors finally tracked him down at his 80th birthday party.
John Eastman ($10,000): A California state judge recommended Thursday that Eastman be disbarred for his post-election efforts after the attorney helped Trump try to block Congress from certifying the election results, also sanctioning him $10,000 in total—$5,000 for filing court pleadings “seeking to mislead the courts,” and another $5,000 “for making numerous false and misleading statements” about the election and “his collaborative efforts with President Trump to impede the counting of electoral votes.”
Michigan Sanctions ($152,450): Far-right attorney Sidney Powell and her co-counsel were sanctioned in Michigan for a lawsuit brought in that state alleging election fraud—which U.S. District Judge Linda Parker deemed “a historic and profound abuse of the judicial process”—though while Parker initially ordered them to pay more than $175,000, an appeals court decreased the sanctions to $132,81.62 payable to the city of Detroit and $19,639.75 to the state (the Supreme Court then upheld that ruling in February).
Giuliani’s Defamation Case ($148.3 Million): Attorney Rudy Giuliani was ordered to pay $148.2 million to Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss after he spread false claims linking them to election fraud, including $16.9 million and $16.2 million for defaming Freeman and Moss, respectively, $20 million for each plaintiff for emotional distress and $75 million in punitive damages—leading the lawyer to file for bankruptcy in December.
Giuliani had already separately been ordered to pay more than $133,000 in attorneys fees in the case because he failed to turn over evidence—with the judge first forcing him to pay $89,173 personally, plus an additional unspecified amount in fees, and separately ordering his company to pay $43,684, with Giuliani personally on the hook for the fees if his business doesn’t pay.
Fulton County Bond ($750,000): Powell, Giuliani, Eastman and other lawyers Kenneth Chesebro, Jenna Ellis, Jeffrey Clark, Ray Smith and Robert Cheeley were among the 19 defendants indicted in Fulton County, Georgia, for trying to overturn the state’s 2020 election results; most of the attorney defendants were released on $100,000 bond, while Giuliani had to pay $150,000 and Smith and Cheeley were released with a lower $50,000 bond.
Fulton County Plea Deals ($18,700): Powell, Chesebro and Ellis have accepted plea deals in the Fulton County case rather than go to trial; Powell has to pay a $6,000 fine plus $2,700 in restitution, while Chesebro and Ellis each had to pay $5,000 in restitution, in addition to other non-monetary penalties like community service and writing public apology letters.
Legal Fees (More Than $3 Million): It’s unclear how much attorneys have had to pay for their own legal fees, but the numbers appear staggering: Ellis has raised $220,149 as of Wednesday through her legal defense fund on GiveSendGo, an amount the fundraiser notes is “significantly exceeded” by her actual legal costs, and Eastman and Clark have raised $864,076 and $113,538, respectively, on their respective GiveSendGo fundraisers (both still below their respective goals of $1.5 million and $500,000).
Giuliani’s bankruptcy filing details $3.7 million in total outstanding legal fees and debts to law firms, including $1.4 million in unpaid legal fees his ex-attorney Robert Costello has sued Giuliani to recover—which includes for election-related cases—and the former mayor has started a political action committee and sought Trump’s help in trying to pay his legal costs, with the former president hosting a $100,000 per plate fundraiser for Giuliani’s legal defense fund in September that Giuliani’s son said raised more than $1 million.
KEY FACTS
Arizona Bond ($10,000): Giuliani was ordered to post $10,000 bond on Tuesday as he was arraigned in Arizona on nine state felony charges and pleaded not guilty—while his other co-defendants were released without bond, according to Reuters—after the attorney evaded being served for weeks before prosecutors finally tracked him down at his 80th birthday party.
John Eastman ($10,000): A California state judge recommended Thursday that Eastman be disbarred for his post-election efforts after the attorney helped Trump try to block Congress from certifying the election results, also sanctioning him $10,000 in total—$5,000 for filing court pleadings “seeking to mislead the courts,” and another $5,000 “for making numerous false and misleading statements” about the election and “his collaborative efforts with President Trump to impede the counting of electoral votes.”
Michigan Sanctions ($152,450): Far-right attorney Sidney Powell and her co-counsel were sanctioned in Michigan for a lawsuit brought in that state alleging election fraud—which U.S. District Judge Linda Parker deemed “a historic and profound abuse of the judicial process”—though while Parker initially ordered them to pay more than $175,000, an appeals court decreased the sanctions to $132,81.62 payable to the city of Detroit and $19,639.75 to the state (the Supreme Court then upheld that ruling in February).
Giuliani’s Defamation Case ($148.3 Million): Attorney Rudy Giuliani was ordered to pay $148.2 million to Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss after he spread false claims linking them to election fraud, including $16.9 million and $16.2 million for defaming Freeman and Moss, respectively, $20 million for each plaintiff for emotional distress and $75 million in punitive damages—leading the lawyer to file for bankruptcy in December.
Giuliani had already separately been ordered to pay more than $133,000 in attorneys fees in the case because he failed to turn over evidence—with the judge first forcing him to pay $89,173 personally, plus an additional unspecified amount in fees, and separately ordering his company to pay $43,684, with Giuliani personally on the hook for the fees if his business doesn’t pay.
Fulton County Bond ($750,000): Powell, Giuliani, Eastman and other lawyers Kenneth Chesebro, Jenna Ellis, Jeffrey Clark, Ray Smith and Robert Cheeley were among the 19 defendants indicted in Fulton County, Georgia, for trying to overturn the state’s 2020 election results; most of the attorney defendants were released on $100,000 bond, while Giuliani had to pay $150,000 and Smith and Cheeley were released with a lower $50,000 bond.
Fulton County Plea Deals ($18,700): Powell, Chesebro and Ellis have accepted plea deals in the Fulton County case rather than go to trial; Powell has to pay a $6,000 fine plus $2,700 in restitution, while Chesebro and Ellis each had to pay $5,000 in restitution, in addition to other non-monetary penalties like community service and writing public apology letters.
Legal Fees (More Than $3 Million): It’s unclear how much attorneys have had to pay for their own legal fees, but the numbers appear staggering: Ellis has raised $220,149 as of Wednesday through her legal defense fund on GiveSendGo, an amount the fundraiser notes is “significantly exceeded” by her actual legal costs, and Eastman and Clark have raised $864,076 and $113,538, respectively, on their respective GiveSendGo fundraisers (both still below their respective goals of $1.5 million and $500,000).
Giuliani’s bankruptcy filing details $3.7 million in total outstanding legal fees and debts to law firms, including $1.4 million in unpaid legal fees his ex-attorney Robert Costello has sued Giuliani to recover—which includes for election-related cases—and the former mayor has started a political action committee and sought Trump’s help in trying to pay his legal costs, with the former president hosting a $100,000 per plate fundraiser for Giuliani’s legal defense fund in September that Giuliani’s son said raised more than $1 million.
CHIEF CRITIC
Giuliani spokesperson Ted Goodman said in a statement Tuesday after the attorney’s arraignment that the charges against Giuliani “are essentially a cut and paste version of what they're attempting to use to interfere with the 2024 Election and to take down President Trump,” adding the attorney “looks forward to full vindication soon.” Eastman’s lawyer defended his client’s post-election efforts in a statement after the court recommended his disbarment, saying Eastman “maintains that his handling of the legal issues” over whether the 2020 election could be overturned was based on reasonable legal precedent and that Eastman was following “the same process taken by lawyers every day and everywhere.” He also opposed Eastman not being able to practice law to pay his legal fees while he faces the charges in Georgia, saying, “That is not justice and serves no legitimate purpose to protect the public.” Powell called the Supreme Court’s refusal to take up the Michigan dispute “very disappoint[ing]” in a statement to Forbes in February, saying it sets a “dangerous precedent to stand that puts at risk every lawyer who represents an unpopular cause or client” and “is causing a pervasive ‘chilling’ effect on our First Amendment right to petition the government for redress of grievances.” Giuliani has also protested the judgment against him in Freeman and Moss’ case, saying after the verdict that “the absurdity of the amount is indicative of the absurdity and unfairness of the entire proceeding.”
CONTRA
The Supreme Court also rejected sanctioning Powell and her co-counsel in February, as the high court affirmed lower court rulings that denied Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ effort to sanction the attorneys for a post-election lawsuit Powell brought in that state.
WHAT WE DON’T KNOW
How much more money attorneys will pay for their post-election efforts—but it could be a lot. Giuliani and Powell still face defamation lawsuits from voting machine companies Smartmatic and Dominion Voting Systems. Dominion is seeking $1.3 billion in damages from both lawyers, while Smartmatic is asking for $2.7 billion in Giuliani’s lawsuit, in which he’s named as a co-defendant with Fox News and several of its anchors. Smartmatic’s lawsuit against Powell does not specify an amount in damages, but notes her allegedly defamatory actions have cost the company at least $1.2 million. Giuliani, Eastman and other lawyers who still face charges in Georgia could also have to pay high fees if they’re convicted, with the racketeering charges alone carrying a maximum fine of $25,000.
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