Rudy Giuliani's former attorney has sued the former New York City mayor for reportedly failing to pay his legal fees.
In a document filed Monday, Robert Costello and his firm, Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP, alleged that Giuliani has only paid for $214,000 in legal bills, leaving $1.35 million unaccounted for. The New York Times reported that a large part of what Giuliani owes is related to his dealings with former president Donald Trump in the wake of the 2020 presidential election. "Mr. Giuliani racked up legal bills while battling an array of criminal and congressional investigations, private lawsuits and disciplinary proceedings that cast a harsh light on his bid to keep Mr. Trump in office in spite of his election loss," the Times observed.
"I can't express how personally hurt I am by what Bob Costello has done," Giuliani said in a statement, according to the Associated Press. "It's a real shame when lawyers do things like this, and all I will say is that their bill is way in excess to anything approaching legitimate fees."
In response, Costello argued, "How can he take a personal affront when he owes my firm nearly $1.4 million?" Costello also refuted Giuliani's claims that his bills were inflated, asserting that he charged Giuliani at the standard hourly rate. "He's a little late to that party," Costello said. "It's too late for that frivolous claim as he will find out in court."
The suit is the latest in a series of escalating legal and political woes for the disgraced lawyer, who, along with a slew of other co-conspirators, was recently indicted by Fulton Country District Attorney Fani Willis on racketeering charges in the Georgia fake elector scheme. Giuliani also faces potential disbarment in connection to his efforts to assist Trump in subverting the 2020 election and had his law license suspended in June of 2021.
