US judge threatens Rudy Giuliani

8/11/2024 6:18

        A federal judge on Thursday
        threatened to hold former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani in
        civil contempt for failing to surrender his luxury apartment and
        other belongings to two Georgia election workers he defamed and
        owes $148 million.
        
        U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman in Manhattan had on Oct.
        22 ordered Giuliani, formerly a U.S. Attorney and personal
        lawyer to President-elect Donald Trump, to hand over the
        property to Ruby Freeman and her daughter Wandrea "Shaye" Moss
        within seven days.
        
        The property would partially satisfy a judgment that a
        Washington, D.C., jury awarded Freeman and Moss in December
        2023. They say Giuliani is resisting their collection efforts
        and ignoring questions about where his property is located.
        
        At a hearing on Thursday, Liman suggested Giuliani had been
        "farcical" by claiming on a form that no one in the world had
        knowledge about his assets.
        
        "If he doesn't comply, then I'm sure that I'm going to get a
        motion for contempt," Liman said. "He's not going to be in
        contempt if he's made efforts and it's impossible to comply with
        the order, but that's the standard that he's going to be held
        to."
        
        Giuliani, 80, had earlier said he asked his lawyer Kenneth
        Caruso to take his name off the form.
        
        "Mr. Giuliani, you don't have the right to exercise
        self-help," Liman said.
        
        Aaron Nathan, a lawyer for Freeman and Moss, said Giuliani
        appeared to be shuffling assets around, including by opening new
        bank accounts and creating a new limited liability company.
        
        "It's troubling that we learned about it on Monday for the
        first time," Nathan said.
        
        Freeman and Moss are trying to seize Giuliani's Manhattan
        co-op apartment, a 1980 Mercedes, sports memorabilia and cash
        accounts. They said on Nov. 4 that someone emptied the apartment
        of most of its contents.
        
        Giuliani, through his lawyer, has said he was complying with
        the turnover order, and that Freeman and Moss were being
        difficult by refusing to work with the co-op and his bank to
        facilitate the handovers.
        
        Caruso also said the plaintiffs were being "vindictive" by
        requesting a watch once owned by Giuliani's grandfather.
        
        "Oh come on, that's ridiculous," Liman responded, saying it
        did not matter that the watch was an heirloom. "The law is the
        law."
        
        Freeman and Moss accused Giuliani of destroying their
        reputations through lies that they tried to help steal the 2020
        U.S. presidential election from Trump.
        
        Giuliani filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after the $148
        million verdict.
        
        The federal judge overseeing that case dismissed it after
        finding that Giuliani failed to provide a complete picture of
        his finances. That dismissal removed Giuliani's legal
        protections from creditors like Freeman and Moss.
        
        Giuliani has been disbarred in New York, and pleaded not
        guilty to criminal charges in Georgia and Arizona that he aided
        Trump's unsuccessful attempt to overturn the 2020 election.
        
        Trump, a Republican, won a second White House term in
        Tuesday's election, defeating Democratic Vice President Kamala
        Harris.