Giuliani Ordered to Pay Over $1.36 Million in Unpaid Legal โFees
NEW YORK (AP) – A New York judge โคhas ordered Rudy Giuliani to pay $1.36 million โขin unpaid legal fees to attorney Bernard Costello andโ teh law firm Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP,concluding a dispute stemming from legal work performed during โmultiple investigations involving the former new Yorkโ City mayor. The ruling, issued โคFriday, underscores the mounting financial pressures facing Giuliani as he battles legal challenges related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and his broader legal portrayal.
Costello and the firm alleged Giuliani failed to fully compensate them for services rendered from โNovember 2019 to July 2023, totaling $1.36 million despite receiving $214,000 in payments. The work included representation in an FBI examination into Giuliani’s Ukraine dealings, state and federal probes related to the 2020 election, and โขvarious civil lawsuits and disciplinary proceedings that ultimately led to his disbarment. Giuliani โhas denied wrongdoing in connection with the 2020 election โคchallenges.
According to court documents, Giuliani’s last payment to Costello and the firm was $10,000 on September 14, 2023, โshortly after aโฃ fundraiser hosted by Donald Trump at hisโฃ Bedminsterโค golf club. Costello, a former federal prosecutor, is now a lawyer for Nassauโ County, New York, having left Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLPโค in September 2024.
Costello testified as โคa witness for Trump’s defense during the former president’s hush money criminal โฃtrial last year, where he clashed with the judge, Juan M. Merchan, over his โฃcourtroom demeanor.The judge reportedly found Costello’s behavior, including audibleโค comments and eye-rolling, disruptive.