Steve Bannon’s former attorney is suing him for 'a whopping $480,487': report

In 2018, veteran broadcast journalist Dan Rather used the words "flock of felons" to describe the many Donald Trump associates who have faced major criminal charges. And the list has only grown since then.

It’s a list that includes, among others, veteran GOP operative Roger Stone, Paul Manafort (one of Trump’s 2016 campaign managers), Michael Flynn (former national security adviser in the Trump Administration), Michael Cohen (Trump’s former personal attorney and now a scathing Trump critic); and long-time Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg (who was sentenced to five months in jail in 2022 after pleading guilty to multiple tax crimes). Another is Steve Bannon, who served as White House chief strategist under Trump and now hosts the "War Room" podcast.

Bannon was indicted on federal fraud and money laundering charges in 2020, but Trump granted him a pardon before leaving the White House in January 2021. Then, in 2022, Bannon was indicted on New York state charges of fraud and money laundering in connection with the "We Build the Wall" fundraising campaign. And in a federal case in 2022, Bannon was charged with contempt of Congress for a defying a subpoena from the January 6 Select Committee.

Now, in 2023, Bannon is facing another legal problem — this time, a civil case. According to the Daily Beast’s Jose Pagliery, Bannon is being sued by one of his own former attorneys for allegedly owing "a whopping $480,487" legal bill the lawyer says he has not paid.

In an article published by the Daily Beast on February 21, Pagliery reports, "On Friday, (February 17), the Manhattan firm of Davidoff Hutcher & Citron took the rare step of suing its former client over unpaid bills for a mountain of work a lawyer did defending him for two years against Congress, the feds, and a local district attorney. On top of the half million dollars he allegedly owes, the firm is now asking that a New York judge force Bannon to pay interest — plus the cost of the lawyer who filed this lawsuit."

Pagliery’s February 21 report follows his February 13 report for the Beast. That day, Pagliery reported that Bannon owed large "sums of money to attorneys M. Evan Corcoran of Baltimore and Robert Costello of New York City."

Pagliery, in the February 21 article, notes, "It was Costello’s firm that sued Bannon last week. It’s unclear if Corcoran’s firm will take similar action…. According to the lawsuit filed by Costello’s firm, Bannon has only paid $375,000 of his $855,487 legal bill to that one firm. Bannon owes an untold amount to Corcoran’s firm, Silverman Thompson Slutkin & White, but a source familiar with the situation suggested that the total is less than what’s owed to Costello in New York."

Legal problems and all, Bannon reaches a large audience with his "War Room" podcast — which often attracts far-right conspiracy theorists and well-known figures in the MAGA movement. Bannon’s pro-Trump guests have included, among many others, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell; Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia); former Trump attorney and ex-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani; and former Trump White House official Peter Navarro. And the ultra-MAGA Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) has guest-hosted "War Room."