FEC filings reviewed by CNBC show that of over $8 million spent on legal fees by Trump PACs in the aftermath of the 2020 election, just $78,000 in travel expenses and $22,000 in legal fees were paid to Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis, respectively, the two most visible members of Trump’s “elite strikeforce” who failed and failed and failed again to overturn the election result. Meanwhile Sidney “Kraken” Powell and Lin “Crackhead” Wood were paid zero. Actual crackhead Mike Lindell similarly was paid $0 by the Trump PACs to try to overturn the election. Lindell is not an attorney.
While we can’t be sure of exactly how many days Rudy billed to Trump, it is certainly far more than the just shy of four this $78,000 sum would have covered if the $20,000/day Rudy requested was ever going to get paid by Trump. Contrast this with what Trump’s second impeachment defense team were paid (and definitely asked for upfront) in January and February: Longtime attorney Marc Kasowitz’s firm got a $2.5 million paycheck, while $575,000 was paid to Alex Van Der Veen and Bill Cosby rape conviction fuckup former prosecutor Bruce Castor’s firm for the effort.
The remainder of the payments went to the actual professional law firms who, while obviously ultimately unsuccessful in their pursuit of overturning the election, failed much more quietly and in a more dignified manner than Rudy, Jenna, and the Kraken did in their month-long roadshow.