Rudy Giuliani, the former personal lawyer for former U.S. President Donald Trump, arrives to the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. District Courthouse on December 15, 2023 in Washington, DC.
Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images
Rudy Giuliani filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New York on Thursday, citing debts that include a nearly $150 million recent civil judgment against him for defaming Georgia election workers while acting as a lawyer for former President Donald Trump.
The filing by Giuliani came a day after a federal judge in Washington, D.C., ordered the former New York City mayor to begin paying the two election workers the damages he owed for their lawsuit against him, and three days after the women filed a new lawsuit seeking to bar him from defaming them again.
Giuliani’s filing estimates he has assets worth between $1 million and $10,000 million, and estimated liabilities of between $100 million and $500 million.
Giuliani is on the hook for $146 million to Ruby Freeman and her daughter Shaye Moss as a result of a jury verdict last week in D.C. federal court. Giuliani, while representing Trump in efforts to reverse his loss on the heels of the 2020 election, had falsely accused those two election workers of ballot fraud.
His bankruptcy lawyers in a statement, said, “The filing should be a surprise to no one.”
“No person could have reasonably believed that Mayor Giuliani would be able to pay such a high punitive amount” from the defamation case, the attorneys, Heath Berger and Gary Fischoff said.
“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 lawyers said.
– Additional reporting by CNBC’s Jim Forkin
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