WASHINGTON – A federal judge on Oct 22 ordered Rudy Giuliani to turn over most of his possessions and available cash to a receivership controlled by the two Georgia election workers he defamed after the last US presidential election.
Giuliani, 80, has seven days to make the transfer of the assets, which includes his New York condominium and his vintage Mercedes-Benz, once owned by actress Lauren Bacall. The judge also ordered him to turn over certain pieces of furniture, his television, sports memorabilia, jewellery and 26 watches, including one that Giuliani said his grandfather gave him.
“The watch may be distinctive to (the) defendant as an item of sentimental value, but it is not distinctive to the law,” Judge Lewis Liman of US District Court in Manhattan wrote in the order.
For now, Giuliani’s son, Andrew, can hold on to his father’s Yankee World Series rings while lawyers look into whether they were indeed a gift from father to son, as Mr Andrew Giuliani has told the court.
Once the transfers are made, the two election workers, Ms Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Ms Shaye Moss, can begin selling the assets and putting the proceeds towards the more than US$148 million (S$195 million) a federal jury determined he owes them.
Judge Liman also said Ms Freeman and Ms Moss could sue former US president Donald Trump for the US$2 million he owes Giuliani in unpaid legal bills.
Ms Freeman and Ms Moss have been waiting nearly a year to be paid for the damage to their reputations caused by Giuliani, a one-time personal lawyer to Trump and mayor of New York. Giuliani has reported about US$10 million in assets.
After the 2020 election, Giuliani spread false statements that the women tried to steal the election from Trump. The accusations circulated swiftly across social media and led to violent threats against the women and their families.
If Giuliani does not comply with Judge Liman’s seven-day order, he could face being held in contempt of court, which could result in fines or even jail time. NYTIMES