Rudy Giuliani is instructed to surrender high-end items to election workers he maligned | US News
Former attorney of Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani, has been directed by a federal judge to surrender a list of valuable possessions, including his New York penthouse.
Judge Lewis Liman, of the federal court in Manhattan, ordered Giuliani, the former New York mayor, to hand over the assets to two Georgia election workers he defamed and is indebted to approximately $150m (£115m).
He has a week to relinquish the penthouse – reported to be worth $5.7m (£4.4m) – to a receivership controlled by Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, allowing them to sell it, as per NBC, Sky News’ US partner.
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Giuliani was ordered to pay damages to the two election workers after falsely accusing them of fraud following Mr. Trump’s defeat in the presidential election in 2020.
Both Ms. Moss and Ms. Freeman testified at the time that they had received racist and sexist messages, including lynching threats, due to the allegations.
On Tuesday, Judge Liman also mandated Giuliani to hand over:
• Any fees for services to Donald Trump and the Republican Party in 2020 and 2021 – reportedly totaling £2m;
• Cash held in personal bank accounts;
• A vintage Mercedes-Benz;
• Various items of furniture;
• A television;
• Various items of sports memorabilia;
• Jewelry and a diamond ring;
• 26 watches.
The judge has yet to determine if Giuliani can retain a condominium in Palm Beach, Florida and three other sports memorabilia items.
Giuliani filed for bankruptcy shortly after the defamation judgment in December last year. However, a judge dismissed the case in July of this year, criticizing the lawyer for repeated “uncooperative conduct,” self-dealing, and lack of transparency.
This enabled creditors to pursue other avenues to recover the owed sum to Ms. Moss and Ms. Freeman, such as obtaining a court order to seize his properties and other assets.
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The mother-daughter duo is owed approximately $73m (£57m) for reputational harm and emotional distress, with an additional $75m (£59m) as punitive damages.
A legal representative for Ms. Moss and Ms. Freman commended Judge Liman’s decision.
“We are pleased that our clients will finally begin to receive some of the compensation they deserve for Giuliani’s actions,” they informed NBC.
“The outcome should serve as a strong message that there are consequences for those who choose to purposefully spread misinformation.”
Lawyers representing Giuliani did not provide a response to NBC when contacted for a statement.
