Judge awards Steve Bannon’s former attorneys $480K after ex-Trump official refused to pay legal bill

Former Trump White House adviser Stephen K. Bannon is on the hook for more than $480,000 after a New York judge ruled in favor of his ex-legal team’s claim that he snubbed them on payment.

New York Supreme Court Judge Arlene Bluth, in her ruling, awarded the firm Davidoff Hutcher & Citron a summary judgment of $480,487.87— the legal retainer that Mr. Bannon neglected to pay – and the legal fees tied to the lawsuit brought against him.

Davidoff Hutcher & Citron filed suit against Mr. Bannon in February, claiming the firm was not paid for legal services rendered between Nov. 2020 and Nov. 2022, New York Post reported.

Mr. Bannon, 69, was represented by the firm’s partner, Robert Costello, during that period, who helped secure the former Trump administration official a presidential pardon in 2020.

The same firm and attorney also represented former Trump attorney Rudolph Giuliani beginning in 2019.

According to the law firm, Mr. Bannon paid out $375,000 out of the more than $850,000 billed by Davidoff Hutcher & Citron, LLC.

Mr. Bannon, however, claimed that he told his attorneys to stop working on his behalf in January 2022 and that Davidoff Hutcher & Citron, LLC performed work on matters separate from the subject matter of the retainer agreement.

He also said that Mr. Costello would be a witness in a case against him, so he should not have to pay the firm.

“Defendant’s assertion that he need not pay legal fees because an attorney for plaintiff might be a witness in the case in the District of Columbia is also without merit,” Judge Bluth wrote in her ruling. 

“As plaintiff pointed out, Mr. Costello filed a notice of withdrawal in that case in July 2022, well after the time defendant allegedly told plaintiff to stop representing him. Nor did defendant adequately explain how the fact that an attorney might be called as a witness is a valid defense to not paying legal bills.”

Mr. Bannon was convicted last October for refusing to comply with a House subpoena from the Jan. 6 Select Committee. He was sentenced to four months in prison and ordered to pay a $6,500 fine, but his sentence was postponed in November when he appealed the verdict.