The former mayor of New York, Rodolfo Giulianifiled for bankruptcy Thursday in a New York court, six days after being ordered to pay $148 million to two Georgia election workers for defaming them.
Giuliani, who was the former US president’s personal lawyer Donald Trump (2017-2021), declared assets estimated between one and ten million dollars, while his debts are estimated between 100 and 500 million dollars.
The former mayor was convicted last week of accusing two election workers of fraud after the 2020 presidential election, in which Trump lost to the current president. Joe Biden.
Giuliani has long been grappling with financial problems. According to the local press, he has not yet paid the $200,000 fine that the authorities imposed on him in August for the same case.
In a statement collected by The New York TimesGiuliani’s political advisor, Ted Goodman, argued that the failure “It shouldn’t surprise anyone.“, and defended that his decision will give him time to appeal the Court’s decision.
The former mayor explained that his conduct is protected by freedom of expression.
Rudolph Giuliani, with Donald Trump in 2016. Photo AFPTrump is charged in two court cases, one in federal court in Washington and the other in state court in Georgia, over his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Giuliani is accused in the Georgia case of being the Republican’s accomplice in the criminal plot. According to the local press the former mayor he would have asked Trump for money, without success be able to cover the costs of their legal cases.
Details of the conviction against Giuliani for defamation
Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss are the two Giuliani pollsters accused of manipulating the results in Georgia, where Biden narrowly led Trump.
According to the ruling, Giuliani destroyed the reputations of both men and caused them extraordinary “emotional distress” by spreading baseless lies about their involvement in a plot to steal the 2020 presidential election from Republicans.
The compensation is divided between the money that will have to be paid for their liability in the defamation (around 16 million for each plaintiff) and for the emotional distress it caused them (40 million in total). Added to these sums are 75 million in damages.
His relationship with Sergio Massa
Giuliani was mayor of New York and is a friend and associate of Sergio Massawho supported the safety and “zero tolerance” policies implemented in New York to end crime.
The former mayor also participated in several of Massa’s electoral campaigns, supporting him with visits to Argentina when the current Minister of Economy was running for the Renewal Front and trying to show a very tough profile on the issue of Security.
In 2018, when he had distanced himself from politics, Massa went to the United States to sign an employment contract with the company Giuliani & Partners, the management and security consultancy founded by the former mayor of New York and in which he was provided advice … to governments in the region in security and other areas.
A year earlier Massa had taken him to Tigre in the countryside to show him the security monitoring centers. The mayor was Julio Zamora, then an ally, with whom he is in conflict today.
Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.