Rudy Giuliani’s Manhattan bench trial over his continued ownership of his Palm Beach condo and Yankees World Series Rings was set to begin Thursday — but the embattled former New York City mayor was a no-show.
More than three hours after he was due to appear in Manhattan federal court at 9 a.m., Giuliani was nowhere to be seen. Approaching noon, a court official said the proceeding had been adjourned to 1 p.m. without shedding more light on the matter.
Federal Judge Lewis Liman is set to determine at the trial whether Giuliani can keep the Florida property, whose seizure he says would render him homeless, and the rings he claims he gifted his son Andrew.
The action stems from the defamation case against Giuliani brought by a pair of 2020 election volunteers from Georgia, who he baselessly accused of ballot fraud. Giuliani was ordered to pay the women, Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, around $148 million in late 2023 for the harm caused by his lies.
AP
Former Georgia election workers, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss and her mother Ruby Freeman, right, in 2022. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
Giuliani has lost almost everything he owns of value to Freeman and Moss, who are trying to collect the sum through litigation in Manhattan. Last year, Liman ordered him to provide the women his stake in his 10-room Upper East Side apartment, his Mercedes-Benz once owned by the actress Lauren Bacall, and various sports memorabilia toward satisfying the mammoth sum.
Giuliani was recently held in contempt and sanctioned by Liman for failing to turn over items and relevant documentation on time.
Less than a week later, the Washington, D.C. judge in the original defamation matter separately found him in contempt for continuing to defame Freeman and Moss.
Giuliani is slated to take the stand as the first witness at his trial, which is expected to take a few days.
Please check back for updates.
