Giuliani spokesperson says former mayor 'unfairly punished' by having to hand over assets

A spokesperson for Rudy Giuliani said that the former New York mayor, who was ordered by a federal judge to hand over his assets to two Georgia election workers in a defamation case, was "unfairly punished" and claimed that the order was an attempt to "bully and intimidate him into silence."

“Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a man who has improved the lives of more people through public service than almost any other living American, is being unfairly punished by partisan, political activists who are trying to make an example out of him," Giuliani spokesperson Ted Goodman said in a statement to The Hill.

"It is painfully clear. They are attempting to bully and intimidate him into silence through the weaponization of our justice system and through obvious lawfare," Goodman continued.

Goodman's statement comes in the wake of a ruling by a federal judge Tuesday ordering the former mayor to relinquish much of his property within seven days — including his New York apartment, Mercedes-Benz, luxury watches and some of his cash, among other items.

The ruling comes after a jury in 2023 found Giuliani defamed election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss by baselessly claiming they engaged in election fraud and ordered him to pay them nearly $150 million. Giuliani froze the account and filed for bankruptcy, but a judge threw him out of bankruptcy for a lack of transparency, allowing the election workers to collect on the judgment. 

Freeman and Moss are expected to receive far less since Giuliani disclosed only $10.6 million in assets to the bankruptcy court.  

Giuliani had consented to much of the order, but he objected to allowing them to sue former President Trump for the funds until after the election. He is also fighting to retain his Palm Beach, Fla., condo by declaring it his homestead — the judge said Giuliani could remain in control for now.  

In the statement, Goodman mentioned that the order "forces" Giuliani to give up "deeply personal belongings" and listed a personal gift from a childhood hero of the former mayor's and a gift from the first soldiers who entered Afghanistan after Sept. 11.

The order also restricts Giuliani's access to his personal bank accounts and credit cards, as well as his business accounts, which is "a failed effort to crush his highly successful two-hour livestream program on X and his other social media platforms," Goodman said.

"Mayor Giuliani has faith that justice will ultimately prevail, and he will be fully vindicated, just as he had been in countless other situations," he added.