Rudy Giuliani files for bankruptcy after US$148 million judgment in defamation case

Giuliani was ordered to pay more than US$148 million in damages to former election workers he falsely accused of helping to rig the 2020 election

The former New York mayor helped ex-US president Donald Trump advance his false claims of a stolen 2020 election

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Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani after leaving the federal courthouse in Washington, on December 11. Photo: AP

Published: 2:18am, 22 Dec 2023Updated: 8:14am, 22 Dec 2023

Rudy Giuliani filed for bankruptcy on Thursday, just days after he was ordered to pay US$148 million to two former Georgia election workers he falsely accused of fraud as he worked to overturn Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential election loss.

Guiliani, who was known as “America’s mayor” for his leadership of New York after the September 11 attacks in 2001, faces a crush of debts stemming from his work on former US president Donald Trump’s behalf. He also faces criminal charges in Georgia.

In a filing in US Bankruptcy Court in New York, Giuliani said he had between US$100 million and US$500 million in liabilities and US$1 million to US$10 million in assets.

A spokesman for Giuliani said the bankruptcy filing will give him time to appeal the US$148 million penalty and ensure that other creditors are treated fairly.

Donald Trump, right, and Rudy Giuliani at a campaign event in Wilmington, North Carolina in 2016. Photo: AP

“No person could have reasonably believed that Mayor Rudy Giuliani would be able to pay such a high punitive amount,” spokesperson Ted Goodman said.