Rudy Giuliani is ordered to pay $1.36 million in legal bills

By MICHAEL R SISAK NEW YORK AP It s another blow to Rudy Giuliani s withered wallet A judge has ordered the former New York City mayor to pay million in legal fees he racked up during investigations into his efforts to overturn President Donald Trump s balloting loss Related Articles House turns back effort to censure Rep Ilhan Omar over remarks about Charlie Kirk ABC suspends Jimmy Kimmel s late-night show indefinitely over his remarks about Charlie Kirk s death West Coast states issue joint vaccine recommendations ahead of CDC advisers meeting Democrats press FBI director on Epstein files and other takeaways from his testimony to Congress Republican leaders reject Democratic healthcare care demands for bill to avoid shutdown Judge Arthur Engoron made the ruling Tuesday in a lawsuit brought by lawyer Robert Costello and the law firm Davidoff Hutcher Citron LLP In granting summary judgment for Costello and the firm Engoron rejected Giuliani s claim that he never received any bills for legal fees With interest Giuliani owes nearly million He must also pay lawyer costs that Costello and the firm incurred in fighting to recoup his unpaid legal fees the judge ruled Engoron a Democrat is the same Manhattan judge who last year ordered Trump to pay a massive civil penalty after finding that he had engaged in fraud by exaggerating his wealth for decades The fine ballooned to more than million with interest before an appeals court overturned it last month Giuliani s spokesperson explained the ex-mayor will appeal The idea that Judge Arthur Engoron is permitted to sit on a development involving President Donald Trump s good friend and former personal lawyer Mayor Rudy Giuliani flies in the face of justice and demonstrates the partisan political nature of this decision Giuliani spokesperson Ted Goodman revealed Messages seeking comment were left for Costello and Davidoff Hutcher Citron The decision is the latest financial setback for Giuliani once celebrated as America s mayor for his leadership after the Sept attacks In latest years the Republican has filed for bankruptcy been threatened with jail for failing to pay money owed to his third ex-wife Judith and reached an undisclosed settlement to keep his homes and belongings including prized World Series rings after he was ordered to pay million to two former Georgia elections workers he defamed Last month Giuliani sustained a fractured vertebra and other injuries in a car crash in New Hampshire Soon after Trump communicated he was awarding Giuliani the Presidential Medal of Freedom the nation s highest civilian honor Costello and Davidoff Hutcher Citron LLP sued Giuliani in accusing him of paying only a fraction of nearly million in legal fees for their work representing him in investigations related to his alleged poll interference Giuliani was disbarred in New York and Washington for repeatedly making false statements about the poll and he was criminally charged in Georgia and Arizona in connection with efforts to undo Trump s loss to Democrat Joe Biden Giuliani has denied wrongdoing Costello and the law firm alleged Giuliani paid them just leaving a million tab Giuliani s last payment was on Sept about a week after Trump hosted a -a-plate charity event for Giuliani at his Bedminster New Jersey golf club Costello was Giuliani s lawyer from November to July He represented Giuliani in matters ranging from an inspection into his business dealings in Ukraine which resulted in an FBI raid on his home and office in April to state and federal probes of his work in the wake of Trump s ballot loss Costello and the firm revealed in their lawsuit that they also helped represent Giuliani in various civil lawsuits filed against him and in disciplinary proceedings that ultimately led to his disbarment The lawyer and the law firm accused Giuliani of breaching a retainer agreement by failing to pay invoices in full in a timely fashion Costello a former federal prosecutor has since left Davidoff Hutcher Citron LLP and was hired last in September as a lawyer for Republican-controlled Nassau County on Long Island Last year Trump s lawyers called Costello as a witness at the president s hush money criminal trial in an effort to attack the credibility of a key prosecution witness former Trump lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen Costello irritated the judge Juan M Merchan by making comments under his breath rolling his eyes and calling called the whole exercise ridiculous