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A second defense attorney for Rudy Giuliani is withdrawing from his team in Georgia, leaving the former New York City mayor with no local lawyer and compounding his legal troubles.
Atlanta-based Brian Tevis filed to leave Giuliani's defense on Wednesday. Tevis was representing Giuliani in the election interference case in Fulton County, where Giuliani was named in the massive RICO indictment along with former President Donald Trump and 17 other co-defendants for their alleged efforts to overturn Joe Biden's 2020 victory in the state.
Tevis joined Giuliani's legal team as local counsel shortly before the former mayor turned himself in to authorities, and his departure means that Giuliani won't have any local lawyers left in Georgia. David Wolfe, a Georgia-based attorney, filed his notice of withdrawal last Thursday.
Tevis told Newsweek he had no comment.
The news comes amid reports that Giuliani is drowning in legal debt. Last month, several of his former attorneys sued him for failure to pay his legal bills. Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP, the firm that defended Giuliani in numerous criminal, civil and congressional investigations, said Giuliani owes them nearly $1.4 million.
Giuliani has struggled to pay his legal fees, as his attorneys have mentioned in court filings. After he lost the defamation case brought by two poll workers in Georgia and was sanctioned to pay $90,000 in their attorneys' fees, Giuliani's lawyers asked the judge to consider Giuliani's financial difficulties when determining the damages, which are expected to be thousands if not millions.
In a separate defamation case brought against him by voting technology company Smartmatic, Giuliani's lawyers said he cannot afford to pay for the $15,000 search of his records.
Giuliani also drew speculation about his debt problems after he listed his three-bedroom Manhattan apartment for $6.5 million in August.
"This poses a serious problem for Rudy Giuliani," MSNBC anchor Katie Phang said. "He needs local Georgia counsel to defend him in this RICO prosecution. If he cannot afford a lawyer or one cannot be appointed to him, will Giuliani represent himself?"
Political scientist Anthony Michael Kreis said Giuliani's best chance to find another Georgia attorney to defend him in the RICO case would be for him to pick a younger lawyer who is looking to gain some recognition.
"Rudy's troubles compound exponentially," Kreis wrote on X, formerly Twitter, in response to Tevis' departure. "I am sure, however, there is a scrappy young member of the Georgia Bar willing to step in and do some solid work for the exposure. That's his best hope."
Although Trump has pushed back on the idea that he should have to foot the bill for his co-defendants, he has hosted at least one fundraiser for Giuliani at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. It has been estimated that the $100,000-a-plate event raised more than $1 million for Giuliani. A second fundraiser is expected.
Update 10/4/23, 12:52 p.m. ET: This story was updated with comment from Katie Phang.
About the writer
Katherine Fung is a Newsweek senior reporter based in New York City. She has covered U.S. politics and culture extensively. ... Read more