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Rudy Giuliani has been held in contempt of court after repeatedly defying court orders to turn over his assets to settle tens of millions of dollars he owes to a pair of campaign workers he defied after the 2020 presidential election.
A two-day contempt hearing in federal court in Manhattan sought to determine whether the former New York City the mayor deliberately avoided court orders and discovery requests a long legal battle for control of his assets.
On Friday, attorneys Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss repeatedly reminded Giuliani that under “an unequivocal obligation” to hand over their assets or risk facing potentially serious sanctions.
Giuliani now claims he doesn’t know where some of that property is, or if he even had any of it.
A a long list of Giuliani’s assets — including a 1980 Mercedes Benz, his New York penthouse and signed sports memorabilia — was originally included in Giuliani’s short-lived bankruptcy case, which he filed after a jury found him liable for defamation of two women in 2023.
Last month, attorneys for Freeman and Moss told the court that Giuliani “has not turned over a single dollar,” nor has he turned over “a number of specific items of personal property that he was unequivocally ordered” to turn over — including the title to his convertible, the keys to his Manhattan apartment and valuable sports memorabilia,
“It is not even clear at this time where that property is located,” they wrote in court filings.
Giuliani has already delivered a car, more than ten watches and “one diamond ring,” as well as access to his New York penthouse, “but no keys or title deeds,” leaving the women “to sort out significant logistical hurdles to the sale, including the presence of his ex-wife’s name on the title,” the lawyers wrote in court documents.
In a series of court filings on Christmas EveGiuliani pleaded with Liman to deny the sanctions request and claimed he had already submitted “everything” he was ordered to do.
But last week, Giuliani admitted he had not turned over his grandfather’s gold pocket watch, saying he was afraid it would get “lost” and said he did not know where he had stored his Joe DiMaggio Yankees jersey, which at one point was pictured hanging in his Manhattan penthouse.
The jersey wasn’t there when the election workers’ lawyers showed up last October — and neither was most of the furniture in the apartment, which had been cleared a few days earlier. Post-It notes saying “take everything” were placed on several pieces of furniture throughout the apartment.
Giuliani said it was “possible” that the jersey was moved during that period.
He also said there were “inconsistencies” in the bankruptcy filings and “some things I didn’t have,” according to Giuliani.
Giuliani said he also “can’t find” a signed picture of former New York Yankees legend Reggie Jackson among the pieces of memorabilia in court documents.
“I get confused about what I have and what I don’t have,” he testified on January 3. “I know it’s hard for you, Your Honor, but I’ve been blessed with a tremendous amount of Yankee memorabilia… I’m not hiding anything.”
Monitoring TrumpDefeated in the 2020 election, Giuliani launched a bogus bid to overturn the election results in states Trump lost. In Georgia, he falsely accused Freeman and Moss of manipulating election results, fueling a wave of harassment and abuse directed at women.
They sued him for slander in Washington, DC, and in December 2023 the jury awarded them $148 million in compensation.
He then filed for bankruptcy, but after a protracted legal battle, the case was dismissed earlier this year to let Giuliani and his many creditors fight for control of his assets in separate courtrooms overseeing the lawsuits against him.
He will appear in separate contempt hearing in Washington on January 10 for allegedly violating a court order against repeating defamatory statements about women.
A trial in Liman’s courtroom later this month will determine whether Giulaini can claim a homestead exemption for his multimillion-dollar condominium in Florida.