NEW YORK — Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Manhattan on Thursday, less than a week after he was socked with a $148 million damage award for defaming two Atlanta election workers.
Giuliani listed debts as high as $500 million and between $1 million and $10 million in assets in bankruptcy papers filed in Manhattan Federal Court. Last week’s mammoth judgment came after a Washington, D.C., judge determined his campaign of lies against Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, accusing them of fraud, provoked a deluge of vicious and life-altering threats.
Giuliani addressed the filing on his WABC broadcast Thursday.
“I think you probably know, today I did something that, of course, I would rather not do,” he said.
“No one really wants to do this, but I believe it was the responsible and only thing to do — which was to declare bankruptcy.”
In a statement, Giuliani spokesman Ted Goodman 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,” Goodman 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.”
U.S. District Court Judge Beryl Howell, who presided over Giuliani’s recent damages trial, ruled Wednesday that Freeman and Moss could immediately start to collect the eye-popping award.
In the latest order against Giuliani, the judge said the mother-daughter election workers don’t have to wait for the standard 30 days to go after the cash-strapped ex-mayor’s assets to satisfy the judgment.
“Giuliani has never denied that he has taken steps to hide his assets from judgment creditors, and has offered no affirmative pledge that he will take no steps to do so,” Howell wrote.
The judge excoriated Giuliani for brazenly ignoring her previous orders to provide evidence of his financial condition to back up his claims that he’s practically broke. Howell noted Giuliani had “simply ignored” her orders without “making any excuse.”
On Monday, Freeman and Moss filed a fresh defamation lawsuit after Giuliani remarkably doubled down on claims they had improperly tampered with ballots in the 2020 Atlanta vote count after the jury awarded the head-spinning damages. They’re also asking Howell to order Giuliani to stop slandering them, possibly leading to further punishment if he keeps crossing the line.