Former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani filed a defamation suit Wednesday against President Biden for calling him a “Russian pawn” during a Presidential debate three years ago.
During his second debate against then-President Trump in October 2020, then-Democratic candidate Biden said that Trump’s “own national security adviser told him that what is happening with his buddy, Rudy Giuliani, he’s being used as a Russian pawn, he’s being fed information that is Russian, that is not true.”
Giuliani announced the lawsuit during a news conference outside a courthouse in New Hampshire Wednesday, where he filed his litigation.
In a rambling speech, the former mayor of New York City repeated several allegations against the President and his legally embattled son, Hunter Biden, though Giuliani only sued the President despite a high bar for statements by public figures in political settings to be found defamatory.
The lawsuit comes as Giulani faces numerous legal entanglements—including a defamation lawsuit successfully brought against him by 2020 Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and her daughter Shaye Moss. In losing the defamation suit, Giuliani could face significant penalties and has already been fined more than $132,000 for failing to hand over discovery to the plaintiffs.
Further, Giuliani is among 19 co-defendents, including former President Trump, indicted on racketeering and other charges related to the attempt to overturn the 2020 Presidential election in Georgia.
Meanwhile, Giuliani is being sued by his own former attorney, Robert Costello, over some $1.4 million in alleged unpaid legal bills.
In August, Giuliani said in court he’s effectively out of cash amid facing legal bills and sanctions after working for the former President.
Trump hosted a $100,000 per person fundraiser for Giuliani at the former President’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey on September 7. The former mayor’s son, Andrew Giuliani, told reporters that the event raised “over $1 million,” adding that the amount “won’t be enough to get through this.”
When asked if he’s concerned about Giuliani’s ability to pay his legal fees Wednesday, his attorney in the Biden lawsuit, Lou Diamond, told reporters, “That is the furthest thing from my mind.”
“When I say he’s my friend, he is my friend. And he’s the friend of the country. He is America’s mayor,,” Diamond added.
The White House has not commented on Giuliani’s lawsuit.
.jpg){kind=link}