Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Rudy Giuliani, the former attorney for Donald Trump and mayor of New York City, has filed for bankruptcy, just days after he was ordered to pay $148mn in damages for defaming two Georgia poll workers in the aftermath of the 2020 US election.
The 79-year-old, who faces several outstanding lawsuits over his comments alleging widespread voter fraud, filed for Chapter 11 protection in New York on Thursday, listing US tax authorities and lawyers for Dominion — a voting machine maker that is also suing him for defamation over his claims that the 2020 election was rigged — among his largest creditors.
Dominion, whose case against Giuliani has yet to be resolved, won a $787.5mn settlement in a related case against Fox News earlier this year.
The filing in federal court by Giuliani, who previously served as US attorney in the prestigious Southern District of New York, also lists Joe Biden’s son Hunter among his potential creditors. The president’s son has sued the former mayor for allegedly sharing personal data obtained from an old laptop in the possession of a Delaware repair shop.
The filing lists his estimated assets of up to $10mn and liabilities of up to $500mn.
“The filing should be a surprise to no one,” said Ted Goodman, a political adviser to Giuliani. “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.”
Giuliani’s financial burdens have been ballooning for some months. His former lawyers in September sued him for more than $1.3mn in unpaid legal fees — which he said he found excessive, according to media reports.
The damages awarded to Georgia poll workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss last week in Washington federal court could also increase after the duo filed a fresh lawsuit against Giuliani over comments he made about them immediately after the verdict.
Freeman and Moss had asked the court to order the judgment against Giuliani be immediately enforced, arguing there was “a substantial risk” that he “will find a way to dissipate those assets before plaintiffs are able to recover”. The judge granted their request on Wednesday.
Giuliani has also become embroiled in the criminal cases facing Trump over alleged meddling in the 2020 election results.
He is among 19 co-defendants in a criminal case filed by the state of Georgia, in which he has pleaded not guilty. Giuliani is also believed to be one of six unnamed accomplices in an indictment brought against Trump by the Department of Justice.
