CNN –
A federal judge on Tuesday ordered Donald Trump’s former lawyer and New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani to turn over all of his valuable property and his Manhattan penthouse to the control of Robbie Freeman and Shay Moss, the Georgia election workers he defamed and to whom he now owes $150 million.
Judge Louis Lehman of the federal court in Manhattan said Giuliani must turn over his interest in the property to the two women within seven days, to a receivership they will control. The judge’s order to surrender the luxury items is quick and simple, but control of the penthouse will be transferred so Freeman and Moss can sell it, possibly for millions of dollars.
The judge ruled that the women, who counted Georgia’s votes after the 2020 election, will also be entitled to about $2 million in legal fees that Giuliani said the Trump campaign still owes him.
In addition to the Trump campaign fees and the New York apartment, Giuliani must also hand over a collection of watches, including those given to him by European presidents after the attacks of September 11, 2001; An autographed Joe DiMaggio jersey and other sports memorabilia; The 1980 Mercedes was owned by Hollywood star Lauren Bacall. Additionally, the judge ordered Giuliani to surrender his television, furniture, and jewelry.
Lehman has not yet decided whether Giuliani will be able to keep the residential property he also owns in Palm Beach, Florida, or the four New York Yankees World Series rings he owns, which Giuliani’s son claims his father gave him.
“The road to justice for Robbie and Shay has been a long one, but they have never wavered,” Aaron Nathan, an attorney for Freeman and Moss, said in a statement Tuesday. “This finding should send a strong message that there is a price to pay for those who choose to deliberately spread misinformation.”
Giuliani’s spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The judge said he was using receivership to facilitate the transfer of Giuliani’s New York assets to the women because of the unique nature of the assets. He pointed out that one of the advantages of using the legal mechanism is that it is “well suited to working with auction houses and brokers such as Sotheby’s and Christie’s to ensure the maximum sale value (of the property) is achieved.”
The defamation case against Giuliani — and the recent steps to implement the ruling — are an example of how lawyers who aided Trump’s schemes to subvert the election have faced the consequences of those actions, even as criminal trials against Trump and his allies have slowed. Gain traction.
Hear the list of Giuliani’s assets that can now be seized as a result of the judge’s decision
Giuliani, who previously served as U.S. attorney in Manhattan, also lost his law license over the way he pursued false election claims, and professional disciplinary proceedings against other former Trump lawyers are ongoing. Right-wing media outlets, including Fox News, have been forced to settle lawsuits brought by the voting machine company and its former CEO that have been the subject of other election conspiracy theories.
Last December, a federal jury ordered Giuliani to pay nearly $150 million for his lies about Freeman and Moss, and the pair have been working to raise money ever since. He was ordered to pay $16,171,000 to Freeman for defamation, $16,998,000 to Moss for libel, $20 million to each woman for emotional distress and $75 million in punitive damages.
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Giuliani was found liable last year on defamation charges against Freeman and Moss after he failed to respond to parts of the lawsuit against them. In their lawsuit, the mother and daughter alleged that they suffered psychological and reputational damage, as well as having their safety jeopardized after Giuliani singled them out when he made false claims of voter fraud in Georgia, where they were working as election workers during the election period. 2020 elections.
The judge is scheduled to hold a hearing next Monday regarding the property in Florida.
CNN’s Tierney Snead and Devan Cole contributed to this report.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
