Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani agreed to surrender his Mercedes to settle $148 million in damages owed to two election workers he defamed in 2020, but keeps a collectible baseball jersey, his lawyer said.
Giuliani, a key figure in the former Republican president’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, was ordered to compensate election worker Ruby Freeman and her daughter Wandrea “Shaye” Moss in December 2023.
Giuliani later filed for bankruptcy, but was ordered last month by a federal judge in New York to return some of his assets, including his New York apartment, a 1980 Mercedes Benz, jewelry, numerous luxury watches and collectibles.
In a letter to a New York judge on Friday, his lawyer said Rudy Giuliani began the execution by handing over the watches, a ring and the Mercedes on the same day.
He argued, however, that certain items should be exempt from the court-ordered seizure, including a jersey signed by baseball legend Joe DiMaggio.
The lawyer also requested that the court appearance scheduled for January 16 be postponed until January 22 so that Giuliani could attend the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th president of the United States on January 20.
Giuliani was found guilty of defaming the two women as they participated in a vote count in the swing state of Georgia after the 2020 presidential election.
Using a video showing the two women passing an object – which later turned out to be a mint candy – the former New York mayor and district attorney claimed they were exchanging a USB stick “like vials of heroin or cocaine” to rig the results.
Freeman and Moss, who are black, told the jury at the defamation trial that Giuliani’s false accusations upended their lives and made them the target of racist threats.
An eight-person federal jury awarded Freeman and Moss more than $16 million each for defamation, $20 million each for emotional distress and $75 million in punitive damages.
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