Rudy Giuliani filed for bankruptcy on Thursday, December 21, acknowledging severe financial strain exacerbated by his pursuit of former US president Donald Trump's lies about the 2020 election. The former New York City mayor listed nearly $153 million in existing or potential debts, including almost $1 million in state and federal tax liabilities, money he owes lawyers, and many millions of dollars in potential judgments in lawsuits against him. He estimated he had assets worth $1 million to $10 million.
Rudy Giuliani had been teetering on the brink of financial ruin for several years, but the eye-popping damages award to former election workers Ruby Freeman and Wandrea' "Shaye" Moss pushed him over the edge. The women said Giuliani's targeting of them after Republican Trump narrowly lost Georgia to Democrat Joe Biden led to death threats that made them fear for their lives.
Ted Goodman, a political adviser and spokesperson for Giuliani, said in a statement that Giuliani's decision to seek bankruptcy protection "should be a surprise to no one" because "no person could have reasonably believed that Mayor Giuliani would be able to pay such a high punitive amount." But declaring bankruptcy likely won't erase the $148 million verdict. Bankruptcy law doesn't allow for the dissolution of debts that come from a "willful and malicious injury" inflicted on someone else. A judge said Wednesday that Freeman and Moss could start pursuing payment immediately, saying any delay could give Giuliani time to hide assets. "This maneuver is unsurprising, and it will not succeed in discharging Mr. Giuliani's debt to Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss," their lawyer, Michael Gottlieb, said.
After the verdict, Giuliani repeated his stolen election claims, insisted he did nothing wrong, and suggested he'd keep pressing his claims even if it meant losing all his money or going to jail. His rhetoric prompted Freeman and Moss to sue him again this week. The Dec. 15 verdict was the latest and costliest sign of the mounting financial toll incurred by the 79-year-old Giuliani, a one-time Republican presidential candidate and high-ranking Justice Department official once heralded as "America's Mayor" for his calm and steady leadership after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
Among his potential debts, he listed lawsuits brought by two voting machine manufacturers who say he and others defamed them with claims of a stolen election. His other lawsuits, which he listed as potential liabilities, include one brought against him by Biden's son Hunter, who alleges Giuliani was responsible for the "total annihilation" of his digital privacy by accessing and sharing his personal data from his laptop computer. Giuliani is also being sued by a woman who said she worked for him. She alleges he owed her nearly $2 million in unpaid wages and coerced her into sex. Another lawsuit involves a man who claims Giuliani defamed him after he slapped the ex-mayor on the back at a supermarket. Giuliani has denied the woman's claims and has asked for the man's lawsuit to be thrown out.