Judge Hilariously Shreds Rudy Giuliani’s Latest Legal Defense
Rudy Giuliani tried out a new legal defense on Thursday, arguing in a Manhattan courthouse that he couldn’t possibly hand over his assets to Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, a pair of 2020 Georgia poll workers whom he had repeatedly defamed, because he simply didn’t know where they were.At a hearing, U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman said that the idea that neither Giuliani nor anyone else in the world has knowledge about where his assets are was “farcical,” reported Reuters.“If he doesn’t comply, then I’m sure that I’m going to get a motion for contempt,” Liman said. “He’s not going to be in contempt if he’s made efforts and it’s impossible to comply with the order, but that’s the standard that he’s going to be held to.”Aaron Nathan, an attorney for Freeman and Moss, also noted that it appeared Giuliani had been shuffling his assets around, opening new bank accounts and creating limited liability companies.“It’s troubling that we learned about it on Monday for the first time,” Nathan said.Those assets would include Giuliani’s Mercedes convertible, which he was seen driving in Florida on Election Day, making it a little difficult to argue he doesn’t know where it is.Another asset is his Manhattan penthouse, a famously immovable object, which Giuliani was ordered to hand over within seven days to the mother-daughter duo. The lofty apartment would have partially satisfied the nearly $150 million in damages that the disbarred attorney was supposed to cough up after losing his defamation case.Giuliani’s attorneys also argued that Freeman and Moss were being “vindictive” in repossessing certain kinds of assets, including a watch that was once owned by Giuliani’s grandfather.“Oh come on, that’s ridiculous,” Liman said, adding that it didn’t matter if the former mayor of New York considered the watch an heirloom. “The law is the law.”Amazingly, the $148 million debt is just the tip of the iceberg for Giuliani’s legal woes. Over the past year, the former Trump attorney unsuccessfully filed for bankruptcy, lost his accountant over his insurmountable debts, begged Donald Trump for help settling his seven-figure legal fees (he refused), had his WABC radio show canceled for spewing 2020 election lies, and miserably started his own coffee brand, “Rudy Coffee,” in an effort to funnel in some extra cash. He ultimately lost his bankruptcy case due to his outlandish spending habits, with the presiding New York judge branding the former city mayor a “recalcitrant debtor.”Giuliani is also under the gun for a lawsuit from his former legal representation, who accused him of failing to pay his bill and allegedly only dishing out $214,000 of nearly $1.6 million in legal expenses. Giuliani, meanwhile, claimed he was stiffed by his favorite client, Trump, to the tune of millions of dollars. But wait, there’s more: The MAGA henchman is also one of 19 co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case and was named in April in an Arizona indictment charging another slew of Republican officials and Trump allies for their alleged involvement in a scheme to overturn the state’s 2020 presidential election results. In October, an Arizona judge torched a legal filing Giuliani made in the case, ruling that the ex–Trump aide had “not one scintilla” of evidence to question the legitimacy of a grand jury assigned to his lawsuit.But if the ex–Trump attorney can drag out his legal woes for long enough to obtain a pardon from Trump during the MAGA leader’s forthcoming second administration, he may not have to pay up at all.
Rudy Giuliani tried out a new legal defense on Thursday, arguing in a Manhattan courthouse that he couldn’t possibly hand over his assets to Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, a pair of 2020 Georgia poll workers whom he had repeatedly defamed, because he simply didn’t know where they were.
At a hearing, U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman said that the idea that neither Giuliani nor anyone else in the world has knowledge about where his assets are was “farcical,” reported Reuters.
“If he doesn’t comply, then I’m sure that I’m going to get a motion for contempt,” Liman said. “He’s not going to be in contempt if he’s made efforts and it’s impossible to comply with the order, but that’s the standard that he’s going to be held to.”
Aaron Nathan, an attorney for Freeman and Moss, also noted that it appeared Giuliani had been shuffling his assets around, opening new bank accounts and creating limited liability companies.
“It’s troubling that we learned about it on Monday for the first time,” Nathan said.
Those assets would include Giuliani’s Mercedes convertible, which he was seen driving in Florida on Election Day, making it a little difficult to argue he doesn’t know where it is.
Another asset is his Manhattan penthouse, a famously immovable object, which Giuliani was ordered to hand over within seven days to the mother-daughter duo. The lofty apartment would have partially satisfied the nearly $150 million in damages that the disbarred attorney was supposed to cough up after losing his defamation case.
Giuliani’s attorneys also argued that Freeman and Moss were being “vindictive” in repossessing certain kinds of assets, including a watch that was once owned by Giuliani’s grandfather.
“Oh come on, that’s ridiculous,” Liman said, adding that it didn’t matter if the former mayor of New York considered the watch an heirloom. “The law is the law.”
Amazingly, the $148 million debt is just the tip of the iceberg for Giuliani’s legal woes. Over the past year, the former Trump attorney unsuccessfully filed for bankruptcy, lost his accountant over his insurmountable debts, begged Donald Trump for help settling his seven-figure legal fees (he refused), had his WABC radio show canceled for spewing 2020 election lies, and miserably started his own coffee brand, “Rudy Coffee,” in an effort to funnel in some extra cash. He ultimately lost his bankruptcy case due to his outlandish spending habits, with the presiding New York judge branding the former city mayor a “recalcitrant debtor.”
Giuliani is also under the gun for a lawsuit from his former legal representation, who accused him of failing to pay his bill and allegedly only dishing out $214,000 of nearly $1.6 million in legal expenses. Giuliani, meanwhile, claimed he was stiffed by his favorite client, Trump, to the tune of millions of dollars.
But wait, there’s more: The MAGA henchman is also one of 19 co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case and was named in April in an Arizona indictment charging another slew of Republican officials and Trump allies for their alleged involvement in a scheme to overturn the state’s 2020 presidential election results. In October, an Arizona judge torched a legal filing Giuliani made in the case, ruling that the ex–Trump aide had “not one scintilla” of evidence to question the legitimacy of a grand jury assigned to his lawsuit.
But if the ex–Trump attorney can drag out his legal woes for long enough to obtain a pardon from Trump during the MAGA leader’s forthcoming second administration, he may not have to pay up at all.
