Rudy Giuliani’s lavish spending, including thousands of dollars a month on cigars and jewelry for a new love interest, undermines his claim that he can’t afford to pay his soon-to-be ex-wife support of $63,000 a month, her divorce lawyer told a Manhattan judge.
The former New York City mayor spent about $900,000 over five months, including $12,000 on cigars and $7,000 on pens, Judith Giuliani’s attorney, Bernard Clair, said at a hearing Wednesday in New York state court. She filed for divorce in April.
“When a man, a litigant, whether it’s Mr. Giuliani or a bartender in Buffalo, makes the claim that he can’t make the payments anymore and we have to lower our expectations, we look at spending,” Clair said.
Rudy Giuliani, who’s known President Donald Trump for decades and is one of his fiercest defenders in cable news appearances, sat quietly in a pinstriped suit and took notes while Clair spoke animatedly about the luxury lifestyle the couple once shared.
Judith Giuliani’s lawyer also questioned her estranged husband’s claim that she’d "jazzed up" her expenses for the court, noting that the pair both calculated their personal monthly expenses at roughly $230,000 each.
"It seems both parties spend money on certain expenses that most Americans wouldn’t," Justice Michael Katz said. "But that was their lifestyle."
Rudy Giuliani’s assertion that he can’t afford to pay his wife is also undercut by the millions of dollars he’s earmarked to earn this year and his decision to work for free as Trump’s lawyer, Clair said.
More on Giuliani’s wedding here
Rudy Giuliani’s lawyer, Faith Miller, said Judith Giuliani had mischaracterized some expenses. Miller also said she wasn’t taking into account the $172,000 that her husband is spending each month on expenses that benefit her, including payments tied to their properties. The lawyer also defended Rudy Giuliani’s decision to work for Trump for free after years in public service.
“At age 74, if he chooses to work without compensation for the president rather than, say, at a private law firm, I submit that he should be entitled to do so," Miller said.
