Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has filed for bankruptcy after a defamation verdict where he was required to pay nearly $150 million.
Giuliani, who supported former President Donald Trump’s efforts to challenge the 2020 election, was found in a default judgment by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to have defamed two Georgia election workers, Ruby Freeman and Wandera Moss, for accusing them of voter fraud while handling ballots. On Thursday, Giuliani filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
“The filing should be a surprise to no one,” said Giuliani adviser Ted Goodman in a statement reported by The Hill. “No person could have reasonably believed that Mayor Rudy Giuliani would be able to pay such a high punitive amount. Chapter 11 will afford Mayor Giuliani the opportunity and time to pursue an appeal, while providing transparency for his finances under the supervision of the bankruptcy court, to ensure all creditors are treated equally and fairly throughout the process.”
The filing indicates that Giuliani estimates his liabilities as being between $100 million and $500 million while his assets are under $10 million. The filing pauses all ongoing civil litigation against Giuliani until his bankruptcy proceedings are resolved.
In addition to the defamation judgment, Giuliani is currently under indictment with Trump in the Superior Court of Fulton County in Georgia for alleged criminal racketeering with Trump as part of a conspiracy to overturn the state’s electoral results in 2020. Giuliani has pleaded not guilty to those charges but has reportedly been struggling to pay his legal fees in the case, with Trump having hosted a $100,000-per-person fundraiser for his legal fees on Sept. 8, 2023.
Giuliani began his public career as a lawyer in the Reagan administration, during which he served as Associate Attorney General and as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. During this time, he successfully prosecuted notable mob figures part of “La Cosa Nostra,” such as Anthony “Fat Tony” Salerno in the Mafia Commission Trial of 1986, which earned him a national reputation.
Giuliani served as the Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2002 and received international fame for his leadership during the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, being branded as “America’s Mayor” on the cover of Time Magazine, which also declared him its Person of the Year. Among other accolades, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II and awarded several honorary doctorates, though some institutions have sought to revoke those awards due to his support for overturning the 2020 election.
Before advising Trump’s presidential campaigns, Giuliani himself ran for president in the 2008 Republican presidential primary and, briefly, was the frontrunner in the race, though he later dropped out. Giuliani’s relationship with Trump has spanned decades, with them both being acquainted in New York City during the 1980s.
Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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