Giuliani Ordered to Give NYC Penthouse, Luxury Items to Georgia Election Workers He Defamed

Rudy Giuliani, the disgraced and disbarred former New York City mayor and personal attorney for ex-President Donald Trump, was ordered by a federal judge on Tuesday to hand over all of his valuable possessions—including everything from a New York City penthouse co-op to his television set—to a pair of Georgia election workers whom he defamed in service of Trump's "Big Lie" that the 2020 presidential election was stolen by Democrats.

In August 2023, Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia found Giuliani liable for defaming Ruby Freeman and ArShaye "Shaye" Moss—who worked as election officials in Fulton County, Georgia—by falsely accusing the pair of engaging in a nonexistent conspiracy to "steal" the 2020 U.S. presidential election from Trump by taking part in a fake ballot harvesting scheme. Freeman and Moss endured death threats and harassment from Trump supporters as a result of the bogus accusation.

Last December, a Washington, D.C. jury ordered Giuliani to pay $148 million in damages to the women. He subsequently declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

On Tuesday, Judge Lewis Liman of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued an order for Giuliani "to transfer all personal property specified" in an attached list, including "cash accounts, jewelry and valuables, a legal claim for unpaid attorneys' fees, and his interest in his Madison Avenue co-op apartment to a receivership" benefiting Freeman and Moss.

In addition to the co-op—which according to the real estate website Zillow has three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and is worth an estimated $20.6 million—items on the list include watches gifted by European leaders after the September 11, 2001 attack on the United States, a 1980 Mercedes-Benz 500SL formerly owned by the actress Lauren Bacall, and sports memorabilia including a signed Joe DiMaggio jersey.

"We are proud that our clients will finally begin to receive some of the compensation to which they are entitled for Giuliani's actions," Aaron Nathan, an attorney who represented Freeman and Moss, said in a statement. "This outcome should send a powerful message that there is a price to pay for those who choose to intentionally spread disinformation."

"The road to justice for Ruby and Shaye has been long, but they have never wavered," Nathan added.

Giuliani has paid a heavy price for purveying election fraud lies that culminated in the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection by supporters of Trump, the 2024 Republican nominee. His credibility is now in tatters and he has been permanently stripped of his New York and Washington, D.C. law licenses.

And his troubles are far from over—Giuliani also faces criminal charges related to alleged election subversion in Arizona and Georgia.