FILE - Former Mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani leaves the federal courthouse in Washington, Dec. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File) AP The Associated Press A judge has ordered Rudy Giuliani to appear in a New York courtroom on Thursday to explain why he missed a deadline to surrender his belongings as part of a $148 million defamation judgment .
U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman issued the order late Monday after lawyers for Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss — two former Georgia election workers who were awarded the massive judgement — reported to the court that they went to Giuliani’s Manhattan apartment last week to see what assets were there, but that it had been cleared out.
Liman had set an Oct. 29 deadline for Giuliani to surrender many of his possessions to representatives for Freeman and Moss, but none of the items has been turned over yet, lawyers for the former election workers said Monday. Those possessions include his $5 million Upper East Side apartment, a 1980 Mercedes once owned by movie star Lauren Bacall, and a variety of other belongings — from his television to a shirt signed by New York Yankees legend Joe DiMaggio to 26 luxury watches.
The judge originally scheduled a status conference by phone for Thursday, but changed it to an in-person hearing and specifically ordered Giuliani to appear in person in response to the report by Freeman and Moss’ attorneys. Ted Goodman, a spokesperson for Giuliani, said Tuesday that Giu.
