Rudy Giuliani filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday, just days after he was ordered to pay US$148 million to two former Georgia election workers he falsely accused of fraud as he worked to overturn former US president Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential election loss.
Giuliani, who was also known as “America’s mayor” for his leadership of New York after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, faces a crush of debts stemming from his work on Trump’s behalf. He also faces criminal charges in Georgia.
In a filing in US Bankruptcy Court in New York, Giuliani said he had between US$100 million and US$500 million in liabilities and US$1 million to US$10 million in assets.
Photo: AP
The bankruptcy filing would give him time to appeal the US$148 million penalty and ensure that other creditors are treated fairly, a spokesperson for Giuliani said.
“No person could have reasonably believed that mayor Rudy Giuliani would be able to pay such a high punitive amount,” spokesperson Ted Goodman said.
US bankruptcy proceedings can enable people and companies to wipe away or reorganize their debts, and Giuliani’s filing would likely pause all of the pending lawsuits against him.
However, it might not allow him to duck the money he owes the two election workers, as judges have ruled that defamation penalties cannot be discharged if a debtor has engaged in “willful and malicious” conduct.
Aside from the former election workers, Giuliani also listed US President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden and a former employee, Noelle Dunphy, as creditors.
Hunter Biden has sued Giuliani for violating his privacy over data allegedly taken from his laptop, while Dunphy has sued him for sexual assault, harassment and wage theft. Giuliani has denied the allegations.
Dunphy’s lawyer Justin Kelton said they would not be deterred from pursuing the case.
Other creditors include Smartmatic USA and an employee of Dominion Voting Systems. Giuliani falsely accused both voting-machine companies of flipping votes from Trump to Joe Biden, Trump’s Democratic Party rival in the 2020 election.
The two companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Giuliani also said he owed about US$1 million to the US federal and New York state governments and about US$2 million in legal fees. Two law firms that formerly represented Giuliani have sued him for unpaid bills.
As Trump’s personal lawyer, Giuliani led efforts to overturn his election loss through unsuccessful lawsuits and a wide-ranging effort to produce fake slates of electors in battleground states.
His seat-of-the-pants effort drew widespread ridicule. He scheduled a press conference at a “Four Seasons” hotel in Philadelphia that turned out to be a landscaping company, not a luxury hotel. At another news conference, a dark substance, possibly hair dye, dripped down his face.
He called for “trial by combat” at a rally for Trump supporters on Jan. 6, 2021, shortly before thousands of them attacked the US Capitol in an effort to prevent the US Congress from certifying Trump’s defeat.
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