Rudy Giuliani, Slow to Transfer Assets to Election Workers, Can Be Held in Contempt

After several missed days and extensions, Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, may be found in contempt of court on Friday for failing to deliver $11 million worth of property to two defiant employees after the 2020 presidential election.

If defied, he could face steep penalties, including imprisonment.

Mr. Giuliani, 80, appeared in federal court in Lower Manhattan to try to justify a freeze on some of his most expensive assets, including a luxury Manhattan apartment, a collection of Yankees memorabilia, luxury watches and a classic Mercedes-Benz convertible. .

The presence of Mr. Giuliani was not confirmed. The day before, the lawyer of Mr. Giuliani asked if his client could appear in person, due to medical problems related to his left knee, and breathing problems he said stemmed from his time spent at the World Trade Center after the September 11 attacks.

But the judge, Lewis J. Liman, who consulted with Mr. Giuliani about the case in November, said that he will not accept the testimony of Mr. Giuliani unless he goes in person. So the former mayor, wearing a blue suit and dark glasses, entered the 15th floor courtroom with a visible limp and a dry cough.

Mr. Giuliani is expected to take action after lunch.

An appeal is scheduled for October, as payment of a $148 million judgment he was ordered to pay to two Georgia election workers, Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Shaye Moss. Mr. Giuliani claimed, without evidence, that women helped steal the presidential election from Donald J. Trump more than four years ago.

But the deadline has passed, and the women’s lawyers say they received only a small portion of the property.

Mr. Giuliani has argued that he has largely complied with the subpoena and said some of the things the plaintiffs are seeking are not in his possession.

“The Court should see that I gave everything I could give,” wrote Mr. Giuliani in his appeal to Judge Liman, on Christmas Eve.

But the lawyers of these women say that Mr. Giuliani continues to defy the orders, despite the court’s repeated warnings.

Plaintiffs have yet to legally recover his 10-bedroom apartment on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, which was once listed for more than $6 million, in part because the papers have not been updated since his divorce from his ex-wife, Judith Giuliani, according to the report. in court filings. The Mercedes title of Mr. Giuliani’s 1980s, which he says once belonged to Lauren Bacall, are yet to be handed over.

And where is Joe DiMaggio’s signed and framed Yankees jersey, which once hung over Mr. Giuliani, unknown, said Mr. Giuliani. The plaintiffs’ lawyers said the item was removed from his house before they gained entry.

“It is difficult to prove the truth of Mr. Giuliani,” Aaron E. Nathan, one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys, wrote in a Dec. 30. “Enough is enough.”

The hearing marks a low point in Mr. Trump’s many legal battles. Giuliani from his being as Mr.’s lawyer. In November, the lawyers of Mr. Giuliani recused himself from the procurement case, citing an undisclosed reason for professional misconduct.

In a recently closed letter explaining their departure, one of the lawyers, Kenneth Caruso, said Mr. Giuliani has been uncooperative in foreclosure proceedings related to a condominium he owns in Palm Beach, Fla., and has withheld access to his electronic devices.

Later this month, Mr. Giuliani is also facing contempt of court charges in Washington, DC, where he is accused of continuing to make public false claims about two Georgia employees.