Giuliani ordered to testify under oath about his finances in wake of defamation verdict

After Georgia poll workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss won a $148 million defamation verdict against former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, the embattled attorney filed for bankruptcy in an attempt to skirt paying the judgment.

Now, after a Wednesday filing in bankruptcy court, the former attorney to ex-President Donald Trump will now have to testify on February 7 — under penalty of perjury — about the true state of his finances. Law & Crime reported that Giuliani "must attend the meeting to be questioned under oath" to justify his efforts to declare bankruptcy to get around paying the women he defamed. As part of a bankruptcy filing, the judgment was "stayed," meaning Freeman and Moss will have to await further legal proceedings before being compensated as part of the December verdict.

"The filing of the case imposed an automatic stay against most collection activities. This means that creditors generally may not take action to collect debts from the debtors or the debtors’ property," the court filing stated. "For example, while the stay is in effect, creditors cannot sue, garnish wages, assert a deficiency, repossess property, or otherwise try to collect from the debtors. Creditors cannot demand repayment from debtors by mail, phone, or otherwise."

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According to Law & Crime, Giuliani sought to exploit a loophole in the stay that would allow him to simultaneously modify the judgment amount and to potentially seek a new trial to assess damages from his acts of defamation. In a filing aiming to stop Giuliani's gambit, Freeman and Moss argued that the man formerly known as "America's Mayor" was "looking to have his cake and eat it too."

Following the $148 million defamation verdict, Giuliani was undeterred, and defamed Freeman and Moss once again outside of the courthouse. This prompted the two former election workers to sue him again, saying the disbarred and disgraced ex-mayor was acting "beyond all possible bounds of decency."

The initial lawsuit stemmed from baseless claims Giuliani made about Freeman and Moss, accusing them of foul play in Georgia's 2020 presidential election. The two women both testified during the defamation trial that they were turned down from multiple jobs, including fast food chain Chik-Fil-A, where an employee showed Moss a photo of herself with the word "TRAITOR" on it during an interview.

In addition to his debt to Freeman and Moss, Giuliani also owes the law firm that represented him in multiple criminal, civil and congressional investigations, which is suing him for $1.4 million over unpaid bills and related expenses. He's also in the midst of defending himself from felony charges in Georgia as part of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' RICO investigation.

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