Rudy Giuliani files for bankruptcy after defamation ruling — cites up to $500 million in debt

Rudy Giuliani, the former famed New York City mayor who participated in efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, has filed for bankruptcy after being swamped by legal bills arising from his debunked voter fraud allegation campaign to keep Donald Trump in office, Bloomberg Law reports. The former federal prosecutor filed papers seeking protection from creditors in New York, citing debts as high as $500 million and assets of up to $10 million. The filing gives Giuliani a brief respite from creditors and puts a pause on civil litigation. 

“The filing should be a surprise to no one,” Heath Berger and Gary Fischoff, Giuliani’s bankruptcy lawyers, told Bloomberg in a statement. “No person could have reasonably believed that Mayor Giuliani would be able to pay such a high punitive amount.” Last Friday, Giuliani was ordered to pay $148 million to two Georgia election workers who sued him for defamation after he promoted voter fraud conspiracy theories about them. Chapter 11 protection will give the former Trump lawyer time to seek an appeal of the lawsuit while providing transparency and fairness for creditors, his attorneys said. 

The Washington, D.C. jury’s verdict concluded a trial on damages Giuliani must pay to Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss for harming their reputations and causing other burdens, including lost wages and mental distress. “The lies Rudy Giuliani told about me and my mommy have changed our lives,” Moss said in front of the courthouse after the verdict. Giuliani has been embroiled in multiple courtroom battles ranging from criminal charges to civil defamation, amounting to millions of dollars in fees and expenses. He admitted in a civil case in August that he was “having financial difficulties” and asked a judge to delay some payments.