Rudy Giuliani tells judge he can’t pay his bills in courtroom | Rudy Giuliani

Former New York City mayor and Donald Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani erupted in court on Tuesday, telling a judge: “I can’t pay my bills!”

Sketches by court artists who create images for the media when cameras are not allowed in court, such as in federal courts, showed an angry Giuliani, 80, pointing at the judge in his case, Lewis Liman.

The hearing in federal court in Manhattan was about a nearly $150 million verdict won by Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, two Georgia election workers whom Giuliani defamed while promoting Trump’s lie that there was fraud in the 2020 election cost him his victory over Joe Biden.

Liman said Giuliani failed to comply with orders to turn over assets.

Giuliani said Tuesday: “The conclusions you draw against me are wrong. I have no car, no credit card, no cash, everything I have is tied up, my business accounts have been frozen and I can’t pay my bills!”

Giuliani’s fall was spectacular. After making a name for himself as a tough prosecutor dedicated to organized crime, he served as mayor for two terms, taking office on September 11, 2001, and was widely praised for his leadership following the terrorist attacks in the United States. His 2008 presidential bid failed, but Giuliani had a successful career as a consultant and speaker before allying with Trump when the real estate tycoon entered Republican politics in 2015.

Giuliani missed out on a Cabinet appointment but became Trump’s personal lawyer – a job that fueled Trump’s first impeachment in 2019 for blackmailing Ukraine over political smear. Giuliani then became a key driver of Trump’s failed attempt to overturn the 2020 election – work that led to criminal charges to which he pleaded not guilty, the major defamation verdict and professional associations in Washington and New York.

On Tuesday, Giuliani’s lawyer told the judge in New York that his client had turned over assets including a Mercedes-Benz sports car that once belonged to movie star Lauren Bacall. An attorney for Freeman and Moss said Giuliani turned over the car but not the title. Lawyers for the two women also said they gained entry to Giuliani’s $5 million apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan but did not secure “the keys, the shares or the lease.”

In court, the judge told Giuliani’s attorney, “A car without a title is meaningless…Your client is a competent person.” He was the U.S. attorney in the district. The idea that he can’t apply for a certificate of title–“

Giuliani interrupted him and said, “I applied for this!” What should I do, invent it myself? Your claim that I did not do this carefully is completely false.”

Then he began his outburst about financial problems.

Giuliani’s lawyer asked Liman to extend the deadlines because he had just begun the case after previous lawyers withdrew. Liman denied the request, saying, “You can’t restart the clock by firing one attorney and hiring another. “He has already received multiple extensions and missed multiple deadlines.”

A trial is scheduled for Jan. 16 to determine whether Giuliani must also donate his Florida home and four New York Yankees World Series commemorative rings to Moss and Freeman. On Tuesday, Giuliani’s lawyer asked whether the trial could be postponed so that his client could attend the inauguration events for Trump, who will be sworn in as president on January 20 in Washington DC. Liman said no.

Outside court, Giuliani told reporters that Liman would “rule against me.” If you sit in the courtroom and can’t figure it out, you’re stupid.” He also said that the judge “has a serious left-wing Democratic background… as left-wing as you can be” – even as he acknowledged that Liman was nominated by Trump .

Giuliani said he did not regret defaming Freeman and Moss.

“I regret the persecution that has been inflicted on me,” he said.