Judge orders Giuliani to hand over assets to Georgia election workers

Rudy Giuliani must turn over much of his property — his apartment in New York, the city that made him mayor, and other prized possessions — to two Georgia election workers who have sought for months to collect their massive defamation judgment, a federal judge ruled Tuesday. 

The order appoints Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, the election workers, as receivers of Giuliani’s New York apartment, Mercedes-Benz, luxury watches and some of his cash, among other items.  

U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman ordered Giuliani to hand over his assets within seven days and gave the mother-daughter duo authority to immediately put those items for sale.

They will also be free to pursue Giuliani’s claim that former President Trump owes him legal fees for work following the 2020 election. 

Giuliani had consented to much of the order, but he objected to allowing them to sue 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.  

Giuliani, the former mayor of New York and a longtime ally of former President Trump, now has until just next week to turn over the assets or face the risk of them being seized. The Hill requested comment from Giuliani’s spokesperson. 

“In the absence of a turnover order to a receiver, Plaintiffs would bear the unacceptable risk of delay and Defendant’s insolvency,” Liman wrote in his ruling. “The Court finds no good cause to impose additional limits on the time or manner of the liquidation or prosecution of any other item or interest on the list.” 

In a statement Wednesday evening, Giuliani spokesperson Ted Goodman said the former mayor was being “unfairly punished by partisan, political activists.”

“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 said. “The court order forces the mayor to relinquish deeply personal belongings, including gifts from his children and close family friends. They are attempting to take everything from him.”

A jury in 2023 found Giuliani defamed Freeman and Moss by baselessly claiming they engaged in election fraud and ordered him pay them $146 million. Giuliani froze the judgment, and other pending lawsuits against him, by filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. But a judge threw him out of bankruptcy for a lack of transparency, allowing the election workers to collect on the judgment. 

Despite the eye-popping amount, the mother-daughter duo is expected to receive far less, since Giuliani disclosed only $10.6 million in assets to the bankruptcy court.  

“We are proud that our clients will finally begin to receive some of the compensation to which they are entitled for Giuliani’s actions,” said Aaron Nathan, a lawyer for Freeman and Moss. “This outcome should send a powerful message that there is a price to pay for those who choose to intentionally spread disinformation.”

Beyond his New York apartment, Giuliani also must turnover his 1980 Mercedez-Benz SL500, television, various furniture, signed memorabilia of famed Yankees Reggie Jackson and Joe DiMaggio, 26 watches and nonexempt cash in his checking accounts. 

Goodman said DiMaggio personally gifted the shirt and that another item was a gift from the first soldiers who entered Afghanistan after Sept. 11, 2001. Giuliani’s attorney had indicated some of the watches were gifted to him by foreign heads of state following the attacks. 

The judge, however, deferred a decision on whether Giuliani must turnover three Yankees World Series rings. His son, Andrew, has intervened in the legal battle to claim they were gifted to him in 2018, contending the election workers aren’t entitled to them.  

A hearing is set for Oct. 28 to discuss those matters, and the judge has also scheduled a Jan. 16, 2025, bench trial for whether Giuliani can hold onto his Palm Beach condo as his homestead.  

Updated 10/23/24 at 6:21 p.m.