Giuliani says he's a victim of 'political persecution'

NEW YORK (AP) — A defiant Rudy Giuliani was ordered Thursday to quickly turn over prized assets including a car and a watch given to him by his grandfather as part of a $148 million defamation judgment, leading the former New York City mayor to emerge from court saying he expects to win on appeal and get everything back.

After the hearing in Manhattan federal court, Giuliani said he was the victim of a “political vendetta” and he was “pretty sure” the judgment could be reversed.

“This is a case of political persecution,” he told reporters, citing the size of what he described as a punitive judgment. “There isn’t a person (who) doesn’t know the judgment is ridiculous.”

Judge Lewis J. Liman ordered the one-time presidential candidate to report to court after lawyers for the two former Georgia election workers who were awarded the massive judgment visited Giuliani’s Manhattan apartment last week only to discover it had been cleared out weeks earlier.

Lawyers for Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, say Giuliani has mostly dodged turning over assets by an Oct. 29 deadline, enabling the longtime ally of once-and-future President Donald Trump to hang on to many of his most treasured belongings.

The possessions include his $5 million Upper East Side apartment, a 1980 Mercedes once owned by movie star Lauren Bacall, a shirt signed by New York Yankees legend Joe DiMaggio, dozens of luxury watches and other valuables.

During Thursday's hearing, Giuliani attorney Kenneth Caruso said he believed the plaintiffs were being “vindictive” in demanding that items to be turned over include a watch that belonged to Giuliani's grandfather.

That comment drew a scoff and rebuke from Liman, who said individuals are forced to give up family heirlooms all the time to satisfy debts.

“They have to pay the debt. It doesn't matter that it's in the form of a watch or a watch that somebody passes down to him,” the judge said.

Caruso also claimed that the car was worth less than $4,000, an amount that might exempt it from the turnover order. But the judge said he'd already ordered that the car be turned over.

“Your honor has ample discretion to change an order,” Caruso said.

When he arrived at the courthouse, Giuliani told reporters that he has not stood in the way of the court's orders.

“Every bit of property that they want is available, if they are entitled to it,” he said. “Now, the law says they’re not entitled to a lot of them. For example, they want my grandfather’s watch, which is 150 years old. That’s a bit of an heirloom. Usually you don’t get those unless you’re involved in a political persecution. In fact, having me here today is like a political persecution.”

Aaron Nathan, an attorney for the election workers, told Liman that most of the New York apartment's contents, including art, sports memorabilia and other valuables, had been moved out about four weeks prior to an attempt to recover the materials. Some of was believed stored on Long Island in a container Giuliani's lawyer said they could not access.

At the hearing, Nathan complained that efforts to get assets were met by “delay and then evasion” and that Giuliani had only recently revealed the existence of new bank accounts containing about $40,000 in cash.

Giuliani spoke directly to the judge at one point, saying he'd been “treated rudely” by those trying to take control of his assets.

His lawyers have so far argued unsuccessfully that Giuliani should not be forced to turn over his belongings while he appeals the judgment.

Giuliani was found liable for defamation for falsely accusing Freeman and Moss of ballot fraud as he pushed Trump's unsubstantiated election fraud allegations during the 2020 campaign.

The women said they faced death threats after Giuliani accused the two of sneaking in ballots in suitcases, counting ballots multiple times and tampering with voting machines.

Asked Thursday by a reporter if he had any regrets about defaming the women, Giuliani bristled, saying: “First of all, I didn't defame them. I did not defame them.”

Caruso, his lawyer, stepped in, saying: “Everything that’s been ordered today, will — in my professional judgment — be temporary. ... We're going to have that verdict reversed. It's all going to come back.”

Giuliani also said he had spoken to Trump since his reelection, prompting a reporter to ask if they had discussed the possibility he might join the new administration.

“That’s a discussion between me and the president-elect. And the fact is of course I would if that’s what he wanted. I’m not offering myself or anything, but I would. You know I’m very dedicated to him,” Giuliani said.