An angry Rudy Giuliani lashed out in court Tuesday at the judge presiding over the collection proceeding for the $146 million defamation judgment against him — and complained he’s having a hard time making ends meet.
Speaking after U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman said the former personal lawyer to Donald Trump had not been complying with court orders to surrender his assets, Giuliani snapped: “The implications you are making against me are wrong. I have no car, no credit card, no cash, everything I have is tied up. They have put stop orders on my business accounts, and I can’t pay my bills.”
The judge said Giuliani did not appear to be indigent and warned him against any further outbursts.
The hearing in federal court in New York was held in part in response to allegations from attorneys for Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, the former Georgia election workers Giuliani defamed while challenging the 2020 election results in the state. The lawyers for Freeman and Moss have said that Giuliani, a former federal prosecutor, has not complied with court orders to turn over his assets to the pair.
Giuliani’s new attorney, Joseph Cammarata, said the former New York City mayor had turned over one of the assets — a 1980 Mercedes-Benz SL 500 that used to belong to Hollywood icon Lauren Bacall. Aaron Nathan, an attorney for Freeman and Moss, said Giuliani had surrendered the car, but not the title.
The judge said the title must be turned over. “A car without a title is meaningless,” Liman said, questioning why Giuliani hadn’t been able to get a new one.