Rudy Giuliani was ordered to pay $148 million in damages to a pair of Georgia election workers he defamed as part of a scheme to overturn the 2020 election, but it’s unclear whether the disgraced attorney can afford the penalty due to mounting legal bills he claims he doesn’t have the money to pay.
Some legal experts predict Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss may ultimately receive only a small fraction of the award rather than collect a multi-million dollar payout.
“There is no way they’ll collect [the total judgment], and I don’t think they’ll collect half the amount or a quarter of the amount, just a fraction,” Ryan Goodman, a former Department of Defense special counsel, told CNN’s Erin Burnett on her show “OutFront.”
“It depends on what his assets are,” Goodman noted.
Back in August, the former New York mayor who served as the personal lawyer to President Donald Trump following the contentious election was found liable of defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and civil conspiracy as part of a default judgment handed down by U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell.
At last week’s trial to determine the amount of damages, the federal jury’s verdict was Giuliani must pay $16,171,000 to Freeman for defamation, $16,998,000 to Moss for defamation, $20 million to each woman for emotional distress, and $75 million in punitive damages.
The two Black election workers came under intense public scrutiny and faced death threats after Giuliani falsely claimed they manipulated votes in metro Atlanta’s Fulton County to help Joe Biden win Georgia three years ago.
Giuliani has vowed to appeal the verdict.
“The absurdity of the number underscores the absurdity of the entire proceedings,” Giuliani told reporters after learning the judgment on Friday.
Previously, Giuliani said he was having trouble finding a lawyer to represent him due to his worsening financial situation while facing multiple lawsuits…
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