The individual who has long been the primary advocate for Donald Trump’s false claims of election fraud has withdrawn his request for bankruptcy protection on Friday.
Rudy Giuliani, previously known as “America’s mayor” but recently criticized by his own lawyer as an “80-year-old disbarred attorney,” is facing a significant judgment of nearly $150 million for defaming two election workers in Georgia after the 2020 election. He is also facing additional lawsuits related to his actions as the head of Trump’s legal team post-election.
Following his loss in the case brought by Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss last year, Giuliani filed for bankruptcy and attempted to appeal the decision without paying the required appeal bond, which he cannot afford based on his recent filings.
Judge Sean Lane of the Federal Bankruptcy Court for New York’s Southern District ruled on Friday that it is best for creditors to pursue Giuliani outside of the bankruptcy proceedings.
This decision allows Freeman and Moss to go after Giuliani’s assets as he appeals the case and reopens other lawsuits against him, including those by Dominion Voting Systems and former employee Noelle Dunphy.
Giuliani is now vulnerable as his bankruptcy protection has been lifted, and he may have to liquidate his assets, including his Manhattan apartment, to cover the fees related to the failed bankruptcy attempt.
After facing legal battles for months against Freeman, Moss, and other plaintiffs, Giuliani initially sought a new bankruptcy procedure involving asset sales but ultimately withdrew his bankruptcy claim altogether, a move supported by Freeman and Moss but opposed by other parties with legal claims against him.
Freeman and Moss’s attorneys see this as a victory for their clients, emphasizing that Giuliani’s bankruptcy filing was a tactic to delay the legal process. They also accuse him of ongoing defamation in his remarks about the election since the original judgment against him.
Giuliani was warned by Judge Lane not to disrupt court proceedings and was advised to confer with his counsel without interruption during a hearing where he accused the plaintiff’s attorney of defamation.
Freeman and Moss secured their judgment against Giuliani in Washington, D.C. last year, proving that his allegations of ballot fraud against them were false. The recent ruling allows their legal team to continue pursuing the judgment and seek further penalties for Giuliani’s continued defamatory statements regarding the election.
