Judge: No Waiting Period, Giuliani Must Start Paying the $146M Now

Former election workers asked the judge to waive the typical 30-day waiting period
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 21, 2023 12:00 AM CST
Judge: Giuliani Must Start Paying $146M in Damages Now
Former Mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani talks to reporters as he leaves after his defamation trial in Washington, Friday, Dec. 15, 2023.   (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

Rudy Giuliani must pay two former Georgia election workers $146 million immediately, a federal judge ordered Wednesday. Giuliani was ordered to pay the millions after he was found liable of defaming the two women, and they asked the judge to waive the 30-day waiting period that is standard in such cases. The judge's order allows them to go after Giuliani's assets in Florida and New York, NBC News reports. The judge agreed with "virtually everything" the women pointed out in their request, the New York Times reports. Their reasoning included Giuliani's failure to obey other court orders in the case and the fact that he's facing so many other debts, giving them "reason to believe that defendant Giuliani intends to evade payment of the judgment by any means he can devise."

Wrote the judge in her order, "Giuliani's failure to 'satisfy even more modest monetary awards entered earlier in this case,' provides good cause to believe that he will seek to dissipate or conceal his assets during the 30-day period." The women, who are mother and daughter, were awarded $148 million, but the judge reduced the verdict by about $2 million because the other defendant in the case, TV network OAN, paid a settlement in the case last year.

The Times notes that there's "no indication" Giuliani has "anywhere near the amount he owes," but the judge noted in her order that despite reports of Giuliani's financial struggles, he somehow continues to afford a spokesperson. That spokesperson has not yet commented on the latest news. Giuliani can appeal the damages awarded to the women—and has said he will, per Axios—but he would need to post a bond of $146 million to do so, or convince the judge to lower the bond amount or waive it. (After damages were awarded, the women sued Giuliani again.)

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