Rudy Giuliani files for bankruptcy

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani filed for bankruptcy in New York Thursday, as legal bills from his failed efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election for former President Donald Trump pile up.

The filing comes days after Giuliani, 79, was ordered to pay $148 million in damages to two former Georgia election workers who said their lives were upended after the former Trump lawyer falsely accused them of manipulating ballots during the 2020 election.

"The filing should be a surprise to no one. No person could have reasonably believed that Mayor Rudy Giuliani would be able to pay such a high punitive amount,” Ted Goodman, Giuliani’s political adviser, said in a statement. “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."

According to the Chapter 11 filing, Giuliani holds debts of about $153 million, while only claiming up to $10 million in assets. The former mayor owes close to $1 million in state and federal taxes and owes millions to several law firms, including $1.36 million to Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP, the law firm where Giuliani’s longtime lawyer Robert Costello works. Costello is suing Giuliani for unpaid bills.

The vast majority of his debts stem from the decision in the case of the Georgia election workers, Ruby Freeman and her daughter Shaye Moss.

Even before the ruling last week, Giuliani was reportedly in dire financial straits, and he has at times turned to Trump’s political action committee for help paying his legal bills. His extraordinary debts could grow depending on the outcome of several other lawsuits against him that he also listed in his bankruptcy filing. They include defamation cases brought against him by Smartmatic and Dominion Voting Systems and a pending case President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, brought against Giuliani and Costello, alleging they violated federal and California-based computer fraud laws in their efforts to disseminate potentially damaging material.

Kyle Cheney contributed to this report.