Main Facts:
Rudy Giuliani filed for bankruptcy after a court ordered him to pay more than $148 million in damages to Georgia election workers whose reputations he tarnished by spreading false conspiracy theories linking them to election fraud. This ruling is a devastating blow to his already deteriorating financial situation.
Giuliani filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New York on Thursday, according to court documents, reporting estimated assets between $1 million and $10 million and approximately $153 million in liabilities.
A jury ordered Giuliani to pay over $148 million in response to a lawsuit filed by Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, after he spread the false conspiracy theory linking the women to fraud in the 2020 election, exacerbating the financial troubles faced by the attorney and his advisor in recent months due to increasing amounts he owes from multiple legal cases.
Giuliani earns about $400,000 annually from his radio show, according to a New York Times report in August based on an unnamed source, in addition to some income from his podcast and a live-streamed podcast – which the report notes is “not nearly enough to cover his debts” – and the attorney has listed his apartment on the Upper East Side for sale at $6.5 million, which property listings show has not yet sold and is currently listed for $6.1 million.
What to Watch For:
Giuliani has been ordered to pay $148 million to Freeman and Moss as immediate damages, after the judge overseeing the case ruled on Wednesday to lift a 30-day stay before the ruling takes effect – a stay that election workers warned Giuliani against exploiting to divest his assets to avoid paying the damages. Giuliani will remain liable to pay the workers even after filing for bankruptcy, as bankruptcy does not discharge “intentional torts” like defamation, meaning Giuliani must pay damages for the laws he intentionally violated. Former U.S. Attorney Barb McQuade said on MSNBC last week, “Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss may be able to chase Rudy Giuliani until the day he dies to get every dime they can out of his pockets.”
Giuliani has maintained his innocence in the charges against him, even when found liable for defamation in the Georgia election workers’ case – where the trial was only aimed at determining the amount he must pay in damages – and he admitted before the trial that he made defamatory statements. Giuliani’s spokesperson, Ted Goodman, stated following Giuliani’s bankruptcy filing on Thursday that the filing “shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone,” as “no rational person could believe that Mayor Rudy Giuliani would be able to pay such a high punitive damages award like the Georgia defamation ruling.” Goodman added, “Chapter 11 will allow Mayor Giuliani the opportunity and time to pursue an appeal, while providing transparency to his financial affairs under bankruptcy court supervision.”
What We Don’t Know:
How much Giuliani will ultimately have to pay. Giuliani has been charged with aiding in an attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Fulton County, Georgia, where he is one of 19 defendants in the case, including former President Donald Trump. The attorney has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, and no trial has been scheduled in his case yet, but he could face fines and jail time if convicted. Additionally, beyond the Georgia election workers’ case, Smartmatic and Dominion Voting Systems are seeking $2.7 billion and $1.3 billion in damages, respectively, from Giuliani in defamation lawsuits filed against him. Giuliani’s bankruptcy filing triggers an automatic stay on the civil cases against him – making it unlikely that Giuliani will be able to pay a significant amount in any of those cases – although Dominion said to Insider on Thursday that it still intends to pursue its case against Giuliani.
Facts
Interesting:
Giuliani traveled to Mar-a-Lago “for a personal and desperate plea” to Trump to pay his legal bills, according to reports from the New York Times and CNN, citing unnamed sources. It added that Trump “didn’t seem very interested” in paying the fees but made a “verbal agreement” to cover some costs. Ultimately, Trump’s political action committee paid $340,000 to cover some of Giuliani’s fees to Trustpoint, and Trump hosted a fundraiser in September for Giuliani’s legal bills at his Bedminster, New Jersey, club, with Giuliani’s son stating that they raised over a million dollars. While Giuliani led the ultimately unsuccessful legal efforts following the 2020 presidential election, campaign records indicate that Trump did not actually pay Giuliani for his work beyond travel reimbursements. The New York Times reports that Giuliani asked Trump to pay for that work when he traveled to Mar-a-Lago – after previously requesting $20,000 a day for his legal services – and initially Trump “resisted,” noting that not all the cases were successful, but later “agreed to pay Mr. Giuliani.”
Main Background:
Giuliani was Trump’s personal attorney before he led his post-election legal campaign, which ultimately was unsuccessful and resulted in only a minor victory. The attorney represented Trump directly in court only once in a failed Pennsylvania case and also participated in other efforts to manipulate the results that prosecutors have now accused of being illegal, such as pressuring state lawmakers to reject their states’ results. Trump cut ties with Giuliani in mid-February 2021 after the attorney began facing legal consequences for his post-election efforts, with Jason Miller, Trump’s advisor at the time, stating that Giuliani “is not currently representing” Trump “in any legal matters.” Giuliani’s legal licenses in New York and Washington, D.C., have been suspended due to his assistance to Trump, and he faces the threat of disbarment. He is one of a number of lawyers allied with Trump now facing consequences for their post-election activities, having been charged in Fulton County, including Sidney Powell, John Eastman, Kenneth Chesebro, Jenna Ellis, and Jeffrey Clark (agreements have been reached with Chesebro, Powell, and Ellis).
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