Judge Tells Giuliani To Give Defamed Election Workers What They Want In Storage Unit Fight

With a motion for civil contempt already looming over him in Washington, D.C., another judge on Friday warned Rudy Giuliani that “on pain of contempt” he must comply with requests from the Georgia election workers he defamed to surrender his assets squirreled away in an increasingly controversial storage unit on New York’s Long Island.

The three-page order comes hours after lawyers for the election workers, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, told U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman on Friday that there have been multiple attempts to “intimidate or interfere” with them as they try to inventory the unit containing Giuliani’s assets ― and that this obstruction is now turning into a social media campaign against them.

Giuliani owes the women $148 million for defaming them during the 2020 election. He claimed repeatedly and falsely that they were engaged in fraud and that they’d tried to manipulate ballots in Fulton County. After much delay, and a failed bid by Giuliani to declare bankruptcy once a jury found him liable for fraud, a trial is now scheduled to begin Jan. 16 in New York.

At trial, the judge is expected to hash out how to enforce the surrender of Giuliani’s assets and property. The former New York City mayor has relinquished only some of what he has been ordered to turn over, including a watch collection and a Mercedes convertible.

In the past week, things have become increasingly tense between the parties, with Moss and Freeman’s lawyers even seeking to hold Giuliani in civil contempt as the women say he has once again publicly defamed them with accusations of fraud in 2020.

Court records show that Giuliani was instructed to inventory the contents of the storage unit over a week ago. The unit is owned by a company named Corporate Transfer Storage Inc., or CTS. CTS shares an owner with another company, America First Warehouse, where Giuliani is listed as a “partner” on the website.

When the instructions to begin surrendering assets were issued to Giuliani on Nov. 11, the court gave him until Nov. 15 to turn over the contents of the storage unit. Moss and Freeman’s lawyers said they didn’t know exactly what was being held in this facility to start, but they realized by Nov. 13 there was a “vast” amount of assets there, including 20 pallets of moving boxes and furniture.

A judge overseeing the case agreed with them, and ordered a full inventory to decide what could be surrendered. The court ordered Giuliani, his lawyers and any of his agents to obey a simple instruction: They could not “transfer, encumber or interfere” with any of the belongings at the facility.

Michael Gottlieb, an attorney for Freeman and Moss, noted in his letter to Liman on Friday that this order expires on Nov. 27, absent any further intervention from the court.

Gottlieb also said he and the women have recently learned that both CTS and America’s First Warehouse received “proper” restraining notices, requiring them to leave Giuliani’s belongings untouched.

At first, Gottlieb said the storage unit’s counsel was “cooperative” when they asked for inventory despite the restraining order. Gottlieb said his clients were even told there would be a private surveillance camera running the whole time, something Freeman and Moss were unopposed to, since it would deter any false claims from being made.

Inventory began on Monday, on Moss and Freeman’s own dime. Their lawyers told the judge the first day was slow, with the process taking hours. But nothing of significant value was found.

This prompted the women’s attorneys to tell CTS they would need another three to four days to finish archiving.

Then, on Wednesday, the campaigning began against both the case and the women, Gottlieb said.

On Nov. 17, Ted Goodman ― Giuliani’s spokesperson, and producer for Giuliani’s podcast “America’s Mayor Live” ― posted a message on social media with the hashtag #IStandWithRudy. He called on “ALL Americans to speak out against this lawfare,” and added: “Shame on the law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher for participating in this injustice.”

The next day, Giuliani’s lawyer Joseph Cammarata held a press conference outside of Willkie Farr & Gallagher in New York City.

“Mr. Cammarata is a member of the New York Bar, presumably familiar with… the New York Rules of Professional Conduct, and has his own office at which he is capable of hosting press conferences — it is unclear why Mr. Cammarata thought it appropriate to target Receivers’ counsel by staging a press event at that location,” Gottlieb told Liman on Friday. “In any event, during that press conference Mr. Cammarata launched a variety of attacks against this proceeding.”

During the press conference, Cammarata said repeatedly that “we will not allow it” when discussing the surrender of Giuliani’s cash and assets.

“We will not relent. They are doing everything they can to stop Mr. Giuliani from having a formidable defense. We are not going to allow it,” he said. “This is not what we do in this state. It must end. The judgment does not fit the alleged acts. This firm is doing everything in its power to break an 80-year-old patriot to its country, an American who did so many great things for us.”

Cammarata claimed Giuliani already turned over “90% to 95% of what is in his possession at this point.”

On the same day of the press conference, Gottlieb said he and his clients learned that America First Warehouse had posted a video online from inside CTS’s facility, with Giuliani’s property in the background and one of the CTS and AFX owners proclaiming: “This is where we are going to do it. They are going to dissect the life of Rudy Giuliani. Right here. In front of my eyes and in front of your eyes, because I’m going to film it. This is not going to happen. America has to come back real fast. Pray for Rudy Giuliani, today is his day.”

The post tagged President-elect Donald Trump as well as Ivan Raiklin, an associate to Trump and his allies like Michael Flynn who is known for sharing his wishes for “retribution” during a second Trump term against journalists and others.

The AFX account also reposted a video of Cammarata’s press conference.

“The public relations campaign described above has no legal purpose — this is a turnover proceeding governed by facts and law, not a political campaign ― and, instead, is an obvious attempt to obstruct and intimidate Receivers from effectuating the duties that this Court has authorized them to perform,” Gottlieb wrote.

Giuliani keeps litigating issues in the press that he has already conceded to, Gottlieb told Liman in his letter.

“For example, contrary to Mr. Cammarata’s claims that this Court did not ‘allow’ Mr. Giuliani to have the Mercedes appraised and that ‘they are doing everything they can to stop Mr. Giuliani from having a formidable defense,’ at no point prior to the Turnover Order did Mr. Giuliani’s able counsel ever object to turning over the Mercedes, nor did they object to turnover of many of Mr. Giuliani’s watches, sports memorabilia, and the majority of his other ‘unique personal property,’” Gottlieb wrote. “Mr. Giuliani could have advanced numerous arguments in opposing the Receivers’ motion to enforce the judgment, but made the strategic decision not to do so.”

Gottlieb described this as a strategy of “bemoaning” in public the “unfairness” of the judgment, even though Giuliani was “invited but declined to participate in a mediation; litigated and lost a motion to dismiss; was afforded a full and fair opportunity to participate in discovery, but refused, including by never serving discovery requests on, or attempting to depose, plaintiffs or any third parties; stipulated twice to liability in a failed effort to avoid sanctions for his misconduct; stipulated to nearly all of the relevant jury instructions prior to trial; and declined to put on a defense case or testify under oath during trial, despite being presented with the opportunity to do either.”

Whatever Giuliani’s intent may be, Gottlieb wrote, it has had “immediate impact,” with Giuliani’s associates sharing the “IStandWithRudy” mantra as “license to obstruct” them from completing court-ordered responsibilities. Cammarata’s press conference has whipped up anger at Freeman and Moss online, according to Gottlieb, with commenters making statements like the following: “Destroy that judge and those election stealing monsters.” “There must be a price to pay back this injustice.” “As Steve Bannon recently said The hunters are about to be hunted.”

Another commenter wrote: “Total lawfare. Disgraced, paid for judges. They all should face 18th Century Justice. This is the deep state.”

The remarks are reminiscent of the harassment the women received in 2020, when their lives were threatened repeatedly. Moss told jurors weighing Giuliani’s liability in December 2023 that sometimes she would lie down and think about never waking up again.

People were “coming to kill me,” she said, and she was exhausted and scared.

Her son flunked out of school because of the threats prompted by Giuliani’s lies, she testified. Sometimes, she would have nightmares that her son would find her hanging from a tree.

The harassment and death threats in 2020 forced Freeman and Moss to move and withdraw from their jobs, lives and friends. The women were terrorized then, and now it’s starting to happen again, Gottlieb said.

He asked Liman to order Giuliani to segregate all of his property at the CTS storage unit by Dec. 6 and provide a detailed list with pictures of that property. Then, by Dec. 9, Moss and Freeman will tell him where he can deliver the goods, the attorney said. The women would like the assets delivered by Dec. 13. (Giuliani has a civil contempt hearing on Dec. 12.)

The order Liman signed Friday tells Giuliani that “in light of defendant’s noncompliance” and “for the avoidance of doubt,” Giuliani must meet all of the requested deadlines.

According to Gottlieb, Giuliani has only turned over the Mercedes, 18 watches and one diamond ring. The Mercedes is being appraised by the women, and they expect to have the keys and title handed over during a court hearing on Nov. 26.

Gottlieb said the women are working to get the transfer of Giuliani’s Upper East Side apartment done, but that Giuliani has not turned over the keys, stock or lease, and seems unable to locate any of those records. Giuliani also hasn’t yet transferred the property into his own name; rather, it is still split between him and his ex-wife.

A signed Joe DiMaggio jersey that Giuliani has tried to keep away from Freeman and Moss, along with other sports memorabilia, is still missing in action, and non-exempt funds in his Citibank account haven’t been transferred yet either.

Giuliani’s formal appeal of the case hit the docket on Friday.

Cammarata did not immediately return a request for comment.