Cash-Strapped Rudy Giuliani Must Hand Over His Manhattan Penthouse to 2020 Election Workers He Defamed, Judge Rules

Mar. 15, 2025

Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who was disbarred in Washington D.C. in Sept. 2024 after spreading false election fraud claims following the 2020 election.Photo:Michael M. Santiago/Getty

Michael M. Santiago/Getty

Rudy Giuliani must turn over control of his Manhattan penthouse apartment and several luxury items to two Georgia poll workers who he admitted to defaming after the 2020 election, a judge has ruled.

U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Liman of New York issued the ruling on Tuesday, giving the former New York City mayor just seven days to turn the items over to a receivership, according toCNNandThe Washington Post.

Former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani speks at a campaign rally for former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Uniondale, New York, on September 18, 2024.DAVID DEE DELGADO/AFP via Getty

DAVID DEE DELGADO/AFP via Getty

Aaron Nathan, a lawyer representing Freeman and Moss, said in astatementthat the outcome of this case “should send a powerful message that there is a price to pay for those who choose to intentionally spread disinformation.”

He later added, “We are proud that our clients will finally begin to receive some of the compensation to which they are entitled for Giuliani’s actions.”

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Goodman added that the judgment is currently on appeal, and the court “could have held off on this step” until the appeal is resolved.

“The court order forces the mayor to relinquish deeply personal belongings, including gifts from his children and close family friends,” Goodman said in the statement. “They are attempting to take everything from him, including a personal gift from his childhood hero Joe DiMaggio and a gift from the first soldiers who entered Afghanistan following September 11th. They are also forcing the mayor to relinquish his only vehicle.”

He continued: “They’ve restricted his access to his personal bank accounts and his credit cards, and they’ve blocked him from his business accounts in a failed effort to crush his highly successful two-hour livestream program on X and his other social media platforms.”

President Donald Trump’s lawyer and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani talks to journalists outside the White House West Wing July 01, 2020 in Washington, DC.Chip Somodevilla/Getty

Freeman and Moss sued Giuliani after he publicized a video that falsely claimed to show them rigging the Georgia election results inJoe Biden’s favor, following Trump’s loss in 2020.

In June 2022, the mother and daughtertestified at a Jan. 6 Committee hearingabout living in fear after Giuliani publicized the clip, which showed Moss and Freeman counting ballots during election night.

Trump, Giuliani and others falsely claimed the pair were “involved in a plot to kick out observers, bring suitcases of false ballots for [Joe] Biden into the [State Farm] arena, and then run them through the machines multiple times,” Democratic Rep.Adam Schiffsaid at the time.

Moss and Freeman claimed they were bombarded with threats on social media. Some people even began showing up at the election workers’ homes.

“I’ve lost my name, I’ve lost my reputation, I’ve lost my sense of security, all because a group of people, starting with 45 and his ally Rudy Giuliani, deciding to scapegoat me and my daughter, to push their own lies about how the presidential election was stolen,” Freeman testified.

In July 2024, Giuliani was disbarred in New York for “flagrantly” misusing his power to spread false information about the 2020 election. He was alsodisbarred in Washington D.C.in September 2024 for his “unparalleled” attempts to overturn the election.

source: people.com