Giuliani Ordered to Turn Over Assets in Defamation Case

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Facts

  • Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani on Tuesday was ordered by a federal judge to turn over most of his possessions and cash to two Georgia election workers he was found guilty of defaming after the 2020 presidential election.[1]
  • Last year, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss won their defamation suit against Giuliani, who while working as an attorney on behalf of former Pres. Donald Trump falsely accused them of tampering with the election results. They were awarded $148M.[2][3]
  • Giuliani has been ordered to turn over his NYC apartment, a 1980 Mercedes formerly owned by actress Lauren Bacall, 26 watches, and other assets that will cover about $6.5M of the settlement.[4]
  • Giuliani must turn over $2M in unpaid legal fees Trump owes him. Giuliani has yet to pay the election workers, who were each awarded $16M for defamation, $20M for emotional distress, and $75M in punitive damages. The money owed has a 5% annual interest.[5][6]
  • The judge in the case said he's still weighing whether to order Giuliani to hand over his Palm Beach, Fla. condo and his Yankees World Series rings — the latter of which his son said were given as a gift.[3]
  • This comes as Giuliani also faces criminal charges related to alleged election interference in Arizona and Georgia. With less than two weeks before the presidential election, Republican candidate Trump continues to claim the 2020 election was rigged against him.[7]

Sources: [1]New York Times, [2]BBC News, [3]New York Post, [4]Theweek, [5]USA Today, [6]Breitbart and [7]Al Jazeera.

Narratives

  • Democratic narrative, as provided by Intelligencer. Let this judgment against Giuliani serve as a cautionary tale — anyone thinking of making false accusations about the results of the upcoming election could face serious liability and consequences. Not only did Giuliani promote Trump's lies about the 2020 election, but he did so by ruining the lives of two innocent election workers. He deserves every bit of justice handed down.
  • Republican narrative, as provided by FOX News. The lawfare against Trump and anyone associated with him took an absurd turn with the case against Giuliani and its subsequent judgment. Now things have gone from absurd to ludicrous, with Giuliani being ordered to give up virtually all of his possessions. Hopefully, an appeals court will one day acknowledge the malice behind this case.

Predictions