Judge Says Giuliani Can Appeal—But Not With His Own Cash

Brandon Bell/Getty Images

A bankruptcy judge ruled on Tuesday that to appeal the $148 million ruling in his recent defamation case, Rudy Giuliani must acquire third-party funding that’s approved by the court.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane issued an order ruling that Giuliani’s financial situation is so precarious, that the fees required to appeal the verdict can’t come from Giuliani’s assets.

“Any fees and expenses incurred by the Debtor and his advisors in the Freeman Litigation in connection with any Post-Trial Filings and the Notice of Appeal shall not be paid by, and shall not result in a claim against, the Debtor or his estate,” Judge Lane wrote in the order filed Tuesday.

In December, Giuliani was found guilty of defaming two Georgia election workers, Ruby Freeman and Wandrea Shaye Moss. The former Trump lawyer had made multiple public claims that the women helped rig the 2020 election against Donald Trump to secure a Joe Biden presidency, which led to the women receiving racist and violent threats.

Less than a week after the ruling, Giuliani filed for bankruptcy.

Giuliani’s original bankruptcy filing places his debt somewhere between $100 million and $500 million. In new documents filed in January, he placed the value of all of his assets at $10.6 million.

Earlier this month, Giuliani said that Trump had stiffed him $2 million in legal fees for work he’d done on his 2020 presidential campaign.

Read more at The Daily Beast.