Ex-White House Adviser Steve Bannon Ordered to Pay His Former Lawyers Over $480,000 in Unpaid Legal Fees
New York Supreme Court Judge Arlene Bluth ruled on Friday, July 7, that former White House adviser Steve Bannon must pay his former legal team, Davidoff Hutcher & Citron, over $480,000 in unpaid legal fees, RadarOnline.com has learned.
The firm had filed a claim against Bannon in February, stating that they were not paid for legal services rendered from November 2020 to November 2022.
The sum awarded by Judge Bluth includes the legal retainer that Bannon refused to pay, as well as the legal fees associated with the lawsuit brought against him, adding up to a total of $480,487.87.
Davidoff Hutcher & Citron had represented Bannon in a series of legal problems, including his indictment of defrauding donors to the "We Build the Wall" GoFundMe campaign.
According to the law firm, Bannon made partial payments totaling $375,000 out of the more than $850,000 billed.
Bannon argued that he had instructed his lawyers to stop working on his behalf in January 2022 and claimed they had performed work unrelated to the retainer agreement's subject matter. He also contended that Robert Costello, a partner at the firm who regularly represented him, would be a witness in a separate case against him and, therefore, should not be entitled to legal fees.
Judge Bluth dismissed Bannon's arguments, stating that his claims were without merit. She noted that Costello had filed a notice of withdrawal in the unrelated case in July 2022 after Bannon allegedly told the firm to stop representing him.
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"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," Bluth wrote in her ruling.
"As the plaintiff pointed out, Mr. Costello filed a notice of withdrawal in that case in July 2022, well after the defendant allegedly told the plaintiff to stop representing him," she continued. "Nor did the defendant adequately explain how the fact that an attorney might be called as a witness is a valid defense to not paying legal bills."
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Bannon was sentenced to four months in prison and ordered to pay a $6,500 fine last October for refusing to comply with a subpoena from the House committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riots. However, his sentence has been delayed as he continues to appeal the verdict.
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