$148 million damages verdict adds to Rudy Giuliani's financial woes as he awaits his criminal trial in Georgia

Former Mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani speaks during a news conference outside the federal courthouse in Washington, Friday, Dec. 15, 2023. A jury awarded $148 million in damages on Friday to two former Georgia election workers who sued Giuliani for defamation over lies he spread about them in 2020 that upended their lives with racist threats and harassment. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

A criminal trial awaits Rudy Giuliani in Georgia. He is an alleged unnamed co-conspirator in a federal indictment against Donald Trump. And now he’s been ordered to pay a sum he surely cannot afford.

The $148 million verdict in a defamation case brought by two former Georgia election workers marks a new low point for the man once lauded as “America’s mayor,” whose advocacy of Donald Trump’s false election claims has led to criminal charges and hefty legal bills. And the jury’s verdict could be a troubling sign for Giuliani as he gears up to defend himself against charges in Georgia that could land him behind bars.

“It’s like everything is crashing down on him,” said Nick Akerman, a New York attorney who briefly worked alongside Giuliani in the federal prosecutors’ office there. “He hasn’t come to grips with what he has done to his life. He has completely destroyed himself.”