A US federal judge has ordered former Donald Trump attorney and New York mayor Rudy Giuliani to turn over all his valuable possessions and his Manhattan penthouse apartment to the control of Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, the Georgia election workers he defamed and to whom he now owes $US150 million ($224 million).
Judge Lewis Liman of the federal court in Manhattan said Giuliani must turn over his interest in the property to the women in seven days, to a receivership they will control.
The judge’s turnover order of the luxury items is swift and simple, but the penthouse apartment will have its control transferred so Freeman and Moss can sell it, potentially for millions of dollars.
The women, who counted Georgia ballots after the 2020 election, will also be entitled to about $3 million in legal fees Giuliani has said the Trump campaign still owes him, the judge ruled.
In addition to the Trump campaign fees and the New York apartment, Giuliani must also turn over a collection of several watches, including ones given to him by European presidents after the September 11, 2001, attacks; a signed Joe DiMaggio jersey and other sports memorabilia; and a 1980 Mercedes once owned by the Hollywood star Lauren Bacall.
Additionally, the judge ordered that Giuliani turn over his television, items of furniture and jewellery.
Liman hasn’t yet decided if Giuliani will be able to keep a Palm Beach, Florida, condominium he also owns, or the four New York Yankees World Series rings he has, which Giuliani’s son contends his father gave him.
Michael Gottlieb, a lawyer for Freeman and Moss, told CNN’s Erin Burnett on OutFront that the judge’s order was a “necessary and key step in our clients’ ability to start to recover some of what has been taken away from them”.
“Today’s ruling, I think, is an example of how the justice system, even though it may take some time and even though it may take resolve and the courage of people like Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, will hold powerful people to account for these kinds of wrongs,” he said.
Giuliani’s spokesman did not immediately responded to a request for comment.
The judge said he was using a receivership to facilitate the transfer of Giuliani’s New York property to the women because of the unique nature of the asset.
He noted that one of the advantages of using the legal mechanism is that “it is well-suited to working with auction houses and brokers like Sotheby’s and Christie’s to ensure that the maximum sale value (of a property) is realised.”
The defamation case against Giuliani – and the latest steps to enforce the judgement – are an example of how the lawyers who assisted in Trump’s election subversion schemes have faced consequences for those actions, even as the criminal prosecutions against Trump and his allies have been slow to gain traction.
Giuliani, who previously served as the US Attorney in Manhattan, has also lost his law licence because of how he perpetuated false election claims, and professional disciplinary proceedings against other former Trump lawyers are ongoing.
Right-wing news outlets, including Fox News, have had to settle lawsuits brought by a voting machine company and its former executive that were the subject of other election conspiracy theories.
Last December, a federal jury ordered Giuliani to pay nearly $224 million for his lies about Freeman and Moss, and the pair have been working ever since to collect the money.
He was ordered to pay $24.1 million to Freeman for defamation, $25.4 million to Moss for defamation, $3 million to each woman for emotional distress and $112 million total in punitive damages.
Giuliani was found liable last year for defamation against Freeman and Moss after failing to respond to parts of their lawsuit.
The mother and daughter claimed in their case that they have suffered emotional and reputational harm as well as having their safety put in danger after Giuliani singled them out when he made false claims of ballot-tampering in Georgia, where they worked as election workers during the 2020 election.
The judge has a hearing scheduled for next Monday about the Florida property.