Former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani files for bankruptcy protection

NEW YORK, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- Rudy Giuliani, who once worked as a personal lawyer for former U.S. President Donald Trump, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New York on Thursday, one day after he was ordered to begin paying 146 million U.S. dollars to two former Georgia election workers.

Giuliani, former New York City mayor, also owns over 4.7 million dollars in legal fees, as well as unpaid state and federal income taxes, according to the filing paper submitted to a federal bankruptcy court in New York.

He also faces unknown liabilities in four lawsuits involving Dominion Voting Systems, Smartmatic USA Corp. and others.

Giuliani has assets worth between 1 million and 10 million dollars, the filing showed.

Last week, Giuliani was ordered by a jury to pay 148 million dollars to former Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss for defaming them with false accusations that they committed election fraud in Georgia during the 2020 general elections.

Beryl Howell, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday granted the two women's request to expedite their 148 million dollars judgment against Giuliani. The judge lowered the jury's award to 146 million dollars.

The filing should be a surprise, Ted Goodman, Giuliani's political adviser, said in a statement.

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

The bankruptcy filing will give Giuliani time to appeal the 148 million dollars of penalty and ensure that other creditors are treated fairly, according to Goodman.

"This maneuver is unsurprising, and it will not succeed in discharging Mr. Giuliani's debt to Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss," said Michael Gottlieb, who represents Freeman and Moss in the defamation lawsuit.

Moreover, Giuliani turned himself in during August to authorities in Atlanta, Georgia, for the Georgia election interference case against Trump and 18 others.