Giuliani’s ex-lawyers file suit over alleged $1.4 million in outstanding legal fees

Ex-lawyers for Rudy Giuliani, a longtime ally and former attorney for former President Trump, filed a lawsuit against Giuliani for nearly $1.4 million in alleged outstanding legal bills. 

Robert Costello, a partner at the law firm Davidoff Hutcher and Citron, filed the lawsuit Monday in New York state court, claiming Giuliani agreed to pay more than $1.5 million in legal fees to the firm but has only paid $214,000. 

Costello and the firm are suing Giuliani for the outstanding balance of $1,360,196.10 in alleged fees for legal services provided from around November 2019 through July 2023. 

Costello and the firm served as Giuliani’s representation on numerous occasions, including during the investigations by both Congress and special counsel Jack Smith into the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, as well as by Fulton County, Ga., District Attorney Fani Willis into an alleged scheme to overturn Georgia’s election results. 

Last month, Willis charged Giuliani, alongside Trump and 17 other co-defendants, for the alleged conspiracy to overturn the election. Giuliani’s charges are centered on his alleged attempts to spread false claims of election fraud and his accused role in the fake electors scheme in Georgia. 

Earlier in August, Giuliani appeared to be one of the six co-conspirators listed in Smith’s federal Jan. 6 case over Trump’s alleged efforts to remain in power after the 2020 election.

In addition to his two criminal cases, Giuliani also faces three defamation suits related to comments he made while seeking to help Trump unwind the 2020 results — two from voting equipment companies and another from a mother-daughter duo who were serving as election workers in Georgia. He is also facing disbarment proceedings in New York and Washington. 

As Giuliani’s legal challenges mount up, so does his debt. 

In recent case proceedings, Giuliani’s attorneys pointed to his inability to pay for bills, as well as the apparent cutting off of assistance from Trump’s PAC after it initially provided him with $400,000 this year to help cover the cost of preserving his records as evidence in court cases.

Last month, CNN reported that Giuliani and his attorney traveled to Florida in April to appeal to Trump to help cover some of Giuliani’s legal fees. Trump reportedly did not appear interested, though he verbally agreed to assist with some of Giuliani’s legal bills without committing to a specific amount or time frame.