Rudy Giuliani suffering ‘possible’ 9/11-related lung disease, his lawyers claim
Rudy Giuliani’s lawyers revealed he has “possible” 9/11-related lung disease as they pleaded with a bankruptcy judge not to let someone else take over his finances.
The former city leader — who earned the nickname “America’s Mayor” for his response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks — “is suffering from possible 9/11 lung disease and his future earning capacity is limited both by his age and future health,” his lawyers said in court papers Monday, without providing further details.
Giuliani, 80, owes $148 million in damages after losing a defamation case against two Georgia election workers whom he falsely accused of voter fraud.
He filed for bankruptcy weeks after the judgment in December last year.
His fed-up creditors want a judge in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy case to appoint a trustee to oversee his financial affairs, in order to recover some of the money they are owed.
However, Giuliani’s lawyers say a trustee “will not … increase [Giuliani’s] personal services income” and “a trustee can not compel an 80-year-old to work harder, more hours or longer hours,” according to the court papers, filed in Manhattan federal bankruptcy court.
The embattled former attorney — who has since had his DC law license disbarred — now only earns income from “his personal services,” including speaking engagements and his podcast “America’s Mayor Live,” his lawyers say.
“Maybe the committee [of creditors] also has a suggestion on who would employ an 80-year-old disbarred attorney,” the papers bitingly state.
He also receives money from Social Security benefits and from retirement savings, the court documents say.
In a filing from last month, the creditors said Giuliani should get a “paying job” to help him work off his debt.
Although he was estimated by CNN to be worth $50 million in 2007, having made a cool $17 million in the previous year, a bruising 2019 divorce and reckless spending decisions left him with less than $800,000 by 2021, per New York magazine.
“The funds coming into the estate are modest — but yet the creditors committee continues the talk of [Giuliani] hiding assets and income and potential bankruptcy crimes,” the papers say.
While Giuliani has struggled with the administration of his finances — especially in light of the fact he can’t find an accountant who’ll take him on as a client — “he does not intend to hide assets or mislead anyone,” the filing claims.
Rather than help Giuliani’s creditors get the most money from him, a trustee “will add a new expensive layer of administration” to his case, the filing claims.
“Maybe the committee [of creditors] also has a suggestion on who would employ an 80-year-old disbarred attorney,” the papers bitingly state.
Giuliani’s adviser Ted Goodman told The Post Wednesday: “These incessant court filings are part of a larger effort to bully the mayor into silence through lawfare and a public smear campaign.”
Goodman also played down the health diagnosis, adding: “As far as the state of his personal health is concerned — which isn’t subject to public scrutiny as he is not a current elected official — Mayor Giuliani demonstrates day in and day out that he is a healthy and thriving 80-year-old man with an incredibly sharp mind and quick wit.”
Giuliani’s creditors last month accused Giuliani of accomplishing “almost nothing” since he launched the bankruptcy case in December.
They alleged he files inaccurate financial disclosures, turns over required documents late, refuses to sell his Palm Beach, Fla., condo, spends frivolously and intentionally tries to hide assets — including the fact he struck a coffee promotion deal for Rudy Coffee on May 15.
Monthly reports from Giuliani show a “troubling trend” that he spends “far more than he earns” and makes “unauthorized payments,” the creditors’ papers say.
For instance, in January alone Giuliani spent over $26,000 on his credit card, including on 60 Amazon purchases, charges for streaming services and on “numerous Uber rides,” the creditors’ claim, citing financial statements.
He also allegedly made payments to his business partner Maria Ryan’s credit cards and paid for travel and lodging for his employees.
Giuliani paid $21,000 in April for fees on his multi-million dollar Manhattan pad and another $16,000 in fees for his Florida condo in May, the creditors claim.
He’s paid expenses for his reported girlfriend and he dished out $28,000 in January for his now deceased ex-mother in law’s nursing home.
In Giuliani’s papers from Monday, he claimed to have paid his employees with his own retirement money — shielded from the bankruptcy case — and noted he was required under his divorce agreement with ex-wife Judith Giuliani to pay for her mother’s nursing home costs.
Giuliani “has taken no serious steps to rein in his own exorbitant spending or reduce the costs associated with his extravagant lifestyle,” the creditor’s claim.
“Simply put, Mr. Giuliani and his bankruptcy case have reached an impasse,” the creditors’ May 28 filing alleges. “The time has come for the immediate appointment of a chapter 11 trustee to take control of [Giuliani’s] assets and financial affairs, including his wholly-owned businesses.”
In addition to the enormous judgment that Giuliani owes the two Atlanta election workers for falsely accusing them of ballot fraud in the 2020 election, he faces two criminal indictments in Georgia and Arizona for allegedly trying to overturn Donald Trump’s election loss in 2020 in both states.
And Giuliani was booted last month from his radio show on WABC — where he claimed to make $15,000 a month — after allegedly recently making false statements on air about the “stolen election.”
In December, Giuliani told The Post he was prepared to go to the mat against paying the first installment.
“Do I have $43 million? No. Am I going to fight this case until I die? Yeah,” Giuliani said. “I’d rather die poor with my principles than cave in to a destruction of my country that I love so much.”
