Former Mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani speaks to reporters as he leaves his apartment building in New York, Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig).
Rudy Giuliani’s courtroom antics continued when he reportedly lashed out at the presiding judge in the receivership case concerning the $148 million he owes to the two Georgia election workers he defamed, claiming the jurist was “against” him.
The outburst came as Giuliani appeared in federal court in Manhattan Tuesday morning for the latest hearing in a case fraught with stall tactics, missed deadlines, and general obfuscation from the former New York City mayor.
During the hearing, attorneys for Freeman and Moss said that Giuliani still had not properly turned over the vintage 1980 Mercedes convertible in accordance with the court’s order, according to a report from Inner City Press.
“We turned over the car,” Giuliani’s attorney said.
“But without title,” U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman responded.
Giuliani’s lawyer said the title would be turned over when his client received it, but that reportedly did not satisfy Liman.
“Your client was a U.S. Attorney here,” Liman said. “The notion that he cannot apply for a title—”
“You are against me!” Giuliani interrupted. “They have put a stop order on my social security account,” he reportedly exclaimed.
Liman responded, “I permitted Mr. Giuliani to speak, but I won’t do so in the future. I’ll be required to act.”
Liman said that Giuliani can either represent himself or stop talking in court, Josh Russell of Courthouse News reported.
Giuliani’s trial, which is scheduled to start on Jan. 16, 2025, will deal with other assets such as the Florida home he’s claimed is his homestead and several Yankees World Series rings he claimed he gifted to his son.
Tuesday’s hearing came just days after Liman threatened to hold Giuliani in contempt of court if he did not deliver all of the property owed to Ruby Freeman and her daughter Wandrea ArShaye “Shaye” Moss by Dec. 9.
The hearing began with Liman granting the requests of Giuliani’s former lead attorney, Kenneth Caruso, and his former co-counsel, David Labkowski, to withdraw from representing the now-disbarred former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. The legal duo earlier this month filed documents signaling their intention to quit representing Giuliani — without telling him — citing a rule of civil procedure dealing with a “fundamental disagreement” with a client or a client’s failure to cooperate in their representation.
“You may remain in the gallery or you may leave, it’s up to you,” Liman said to Caruso, according to a report from New York Daily News reporter Molly Crane-Newman.
“Thank you. I’m sorry it came to this,” Caruso reportedly responded.
In granting the request, Liman reportedly made sure that Giuliani’s new attorney, Joseph Cammarata, would be prepared for trial by the date currently on the court calendar.
Prior to his Nov. 7, hearing before Liman, Giuliani told reporters outside of the courthouse that he was the victim of a “political persecution,” specifically noting that Liman had scheduled the trial for “right at the time of Donald Trump inauguration,” adding, “Gee, I wonder why he did that.”
Again on Tuesday, Giuliani requested to have his trial moved back to late January or early February. His attorney said that his client regularly “confers with incoming President Trump about inauguration events” and “wants to exercise his political rights,” per Inner City.
Liman responded by saying that Giuliani’s “social calendar” was not a sufficient reason for delaying the trial.
Following the hearing, Giuliani spoke to reporters outside the courthouse where he railed against Liman, accusing him of being an “activist Democrat,” Politico reported. Liman was appointed to the court by Trump in 2019.
“Have you figured out what side he’s on? Are you too dumb to see what side he’s on?” Giuliani reportedly asked. “I’ve been a lawyer for 55 years. I can figure out what side he’s on.”
Giuliani reportedly continued the Liman diatribe as he got on the elevator.
“He doesn’t give a damn about the truth. He just gives a damn about being popular,” adding, “this is lawfare with capital letters.”
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