Judge slams Giuliani’s ‘farcical’ excuses for failing to turn over property to defamed election workers

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. open image in gallery Rudy Giuliani leaves a federal court hearing in Manhattan on November 7 after he was ordered to turn over a long list of property and valuables to two women he defamed in the aftermath of the 2020 election “I will look into that and report back,” Caruso said. “The notion there is no information your client knows where his assets are is farcical.” Liman told Giuliani to answer those sworn documents “truthfully and fully, and if necessary, take the stand under oath.” Giuliani — sitting between his lawyer inside a building the former mayor himself opened nearly 30 years ago — was slumped in his chair with his arms folded, shaking his head and frequently trying to get his attorney’s attention while he was at a nearby podium sparring with the judge. The two election workers were defamed by Giuliani, who now owes them nearly $150 million “If they owe a debt, they owe debt,” whether that’s a bodega owner or Giuliani, he said. open image in gallery A courtroom sketch depicts Rudy Giuliani arguing with District Judge Lewis Liman on November 7 During a bankruptcy hearing earlier this year, Giuliani claimed that Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee owe him for unpaid legal fees for work he did in a spurious attempt to overturn 2020 election results — a saga that also saw him make defamatory statements about Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, the two election workers in Georgia who were later awarded nearly $150 million at the conclusion of a defamation case last year.