An angry Rudy Giuliani lost his cool in the courtroom Tuesday, lashing out at the judge overseeing his defamation payout, saying “I can’t pay my bills.”
The former New York mayor and lawyer to Donald Trump was captured in a now-viral courtroom sketch by Jane Rosenberg, pointing furiously at Judge Lewis Liman.
“The implications you are making against me are wrong. I have no car, no credit card, no cash, everything I have is tied up, they have put stop orders on my business accounts, and I can’t pay my bills!” he told Liman, arguing that the two Georgia election workers he owes US$148 million to have tied up all his assets.
The $148-million judgment stems from Giuliani’s role in pushing Trump’s unfounded claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him.
Giuliani, who has since been disbarred in New York and Washington, falsely accused election workers Ruby Freeman and Wandrea (Shaye) Moss of ballot fraud, saying they snuck in ballots in suitcases, counted ballots multiple times and tampered with voting machines.
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Freeman and Moss sued for defamation and said the false allegations led to death threats that made them fear for their lives.
Liman previously threatened Giuliani with civil contempt for failing to surrender assets, including a luxury Manhattan apartment, to partially cover what he owes.
Giuliani’s lawyer Joseph Cammarata told Liman that his client had turned over 90 per cent of the assets.
But the judge questioned Giuliani’s alleged struggle to secure paperwork to hand over his 1980 Mercedes vehicle — the one he drove to vote in the presidential election three weeks ago — saying Giuliani’s prior job as the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan was a sign he was fully competent.
Rudy Giuliani, former lawyer to former U.S. president Donald Trump, speaks to members of the media outside a polling location for the 2024 presidential election at the Mandel Community Center in Palm Beach, Fla., on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024.
Josh Ritchie / Bloomberg via Getty Images
After Giuliani’s outburst on Tuesday, Liman warned him that he could not speak again in court unless testifying under oath because his lawyer should do the talking.
The judge said Giuliani could either choose to represent himself or let lawyers do so, but “you can’t have hybrid representation.”
“There should be no higher priority for your client right now than complying with the court’s orders. Period,” Liman told Cammarata.
A scheduled Jan. 16, 2025 trial will determine whether Giuliani must surrender sports memorabilia and property in Florida.
Liman separately rejected Giuliani’s request to delay the trial so he could attend events connected to Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration. Cammarata said Giuliani still regularly consults with Trump.
“The defendant’s social calendar does not constitute due cause,” Liman said.
Giuliani pleaded not guilty to criminal charges in Georgia and Arizona that he aided Trump’s unsuccessful attempt to overturn the 2020 election.
— With files from Reuters and The Associated Press
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