COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – A state lawmaker wants former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani to return the $100,000 fee he received to speak at a tsunami relief fund-raiser.
Giuliani donated $20,000 from the fee to the event’s tsunami relief fund – twice the amount requested by the benefit’s sponsor, the South Carolina Hospital Association, said Thornton Kirby, the group’s president.
But Rep. Tracy Edge said the full fee should be returned because the Feb. 9 speech in Columbia was publicized as a charity event.
“Nowhere was it disclosed that Mayor Giuliani was being paid for his appearance,” Edge said.
The hospital group originally invited Giuliani to speak to its annual gala, which turned into a fund-raiser after the tsunami, Kirby said. He said the speech raised the benefit’s profile and helped raise $60,000 for the relief fund, including Giuliani’s donation.
Giuliani has said he would give the relief fund “whatever amount they felt was right.” His spokeswoman declined to comment Saturday.
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