Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York, filed for bankruptcy this Thursday, just days after a jury convicted him of paying $148 million to two Georgia election workers who Donald Trump's former personal lawyer also baselessly accused. of committing voter fraud in the 2020 elections.
The filing, filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York, lists his net worth as between $1 million and $10 million in assets and nearly $153 million in existing or potential debts, including hundreds of thousands of dollars Tax debts, money he owes his lawyers and millions of dollars in potential court judgments in lawsuits against him. In the Chapter 11 filing, which governs bankruptcies in the United States, the largest outstanding debt is $148 million in compensatory damages.
The former New York mayor has suffered for months from a lack of liquidity, according to the appeal, stemming from spending on his defense on a broad legal front and supporting Trump in attempts to overturn the election results in court. 2020 election won by Democrat Joe Biden. In September, his former attorney Robert Costello sued him for about $1.4 million in unpaid bills, claiming Giuliani violated their agreement by failing to pay the bills in full and on time. Giuliani has filed a motion to dismiss the case, claiming he never received the transcript in question. The case is pending.
But a jury's verdict last week that ordered him to pay $148 million to former Georgia election officials Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss prompted him to file for bankruptcy, a day after the judge ordered immediate enforcement of the judgment He claims that he could not satisfy him if he had ordered that. However, declaring bankruptcy – a common procedure for companies and individuals involved in legal proceedings – does not mean cancellation of payment, as bankruptcy law does not allow the cancellation of debts arising from “intentional and fraudulent harm” to another person . person, in this case the two former election workers.
Ted Goodman, Giuliani's political adviser and spokesman, said in a statement that despite Giuliani's personal wealth, the bankruptcy filing “should not surprise anyone.” “No one can reasonably believe that Mayor Giuliani could pay such a large fine,” Goodman said, noting that filing for bankruptcy would give him “the opportunity and time to appeal while also providing transparency about his finances under the mayor’s supervision.” “The bankruptcy court would ensure that all creditors are treated equally and fairly throughout the process.”
The Giuliani case is a key derivative of the trial of Donald Trump over his attempts to overturn the election results in Georgia, putting pressure on that state's governor and other senior officials to find the necessary votes – nearly 12,000 votes – to win the election to get back on the scoreboard and beat Biden, who beat him by a narrow margin. The August coup gave the Republican candidate running for re-election in 2024 – unless the Supreme Court blocks it, following the Colorado Supreme Court's ban – his fourth impeachment in four months. Along with Trump, 18 of his advisers were officially indicted on a total of 41 charges, the most detailed case involving four against the former president. In addition to Giuliani, the defendants also include Trump's former chief of staff Mark Meadows.
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