Chaos broke out in a Manhattan courtroom after former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani lashed out at the judge over defamation payments to two Georgia election workers.
Manhattan Judge Lewis Liman ruled last month that Giuliani must hand over his Manhattan apartment and a slew of personal luxury items in order to pay the nearly $150 million to Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Wandrea Moss, who he was ruled to have defamed in the aftermath of the 2020 election. After Liman asked why the former mayor hadn’t yet turned over his 1980 Mercedes convertible, Giuliani erupted against him.
“Every implication that you’ve made is against me!” Giuliani yelled, saying that the judge was unfairly “against” him, the New York Post reported.
Liman criticized Giuliani’s attorney’s argument that the former mayor was too incompetent to obtain a title certificate for the car, a remark that set him off.
“I did apply for it!” Giuliani said. “What am I supposed to do, make it up myself? Your implication that I have not been diligent about it is totally incorrect.”
He also denied the characterization that he was “crying poverty.”
“I’m not impoverished. … Everything I have is tied up,” Giuliani said. “I don’t have a car. I don’t have a credit card. I don’t have cash.”
Liman reacted harshly to the interruptions, promising to take official action if they happened again.
“Next time, he’s not going to be permitted to speak, and the court will take action,” he said.
“Your client can either represent himself by counsel or appear pro se,” he added. “He can’t do both.”
The prosecution said that though Giuliani had turned over the convertible itself and the keys, he hadn’t turned over the title certificate.
“The car and the keys, without the title, is meaningless,” Liman said.
Giuliani’s lawyers argued for the case to be resolved ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration. Liman said the case date wouldn’t be decided based on the “defendant’s social calendar,” but may take place before Jan. 20 anyway.
In December, a federal jury ordered Giuliani to pay the astronomical sum of nearly $150 million for his comments about Freeman and Moss surrounding the 2020 election. This includes $16.2 million to Freeman for defamation, $17 million to Moss for defamation, $20 million to each for emotional distress, and another $75 million in punitive damages.
Last month, Giuliani was ordered to hand over his Manhattan penthouse apartment, in addition to a slew of his most prized possessions, including watches gifted to him by European presidents after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, a signed Joe DiMaggio jersey, a vintage car once owned by Hollywood star Lauren Bacall, and other sports memorabilia. Liman also ordered the former mayor to hand over his television, furniture, and other jewelry.
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Liman is still deciding whether Giuliani will have to hand over his Palm Beach condominium and his New York Yankees World Series rings that his son Andrew said were gifted to him, something that will be the focus of the next court date.
Giuliani’s net worth in 2023 was estimated to be somewhere below $50 million, according to CBS News.