Rudy Giuliani interrupted a routine court hearing Tuesday with a bizarre rant about his dire financial straits as the former New York City mayor faces the ramifications of defaming two Georgia election workers.
Giuliani blurted out “I don’t have a credit card” and “I can’t pay my bills” when questioned about why he had not yet turned over the title to his 1980 Mercedes-Benz convertible to help satisfy the $148 million judgment against him for defamation.
U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman scolded the onetime presidential candidate for his explosion and warned him against further eruptions during a touchy hearing in Manhattan federal court.
Giuliani, 80, appeared to take umbrage at Liman’s disbelief that a former U.S. attorney was struggling to get a duplicate title to a vehicle. Giuliani grabbed a microphone and cut him off.
“Your implication that I have been not diligent about this is totally incorrect,” Giuliani snapped, according to Reuters, as he insisted he was “not impoverished” but that “everything I have is tied up,” The Associated Press reported.
“I don’t have a car, I don’t have a credit card, I don’t have cash,“ Giuliani said. “I can’t pay my bills.”
In response, Liman told Giuliani’s defense lawyers that the court would “take action” if he spoke out again and warned that the former personal attorney for Donald Trump would need to be a sworn witness to intervene again.
Last year, Giuliani was found liable for defaming two poll workers in Atlanta, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, by falsely accusing them of tampering with ballots cast in the 2020 elections. Giuliani led a team of lawyers and others who challenged Trump’s election loss with dozens of lawsuits and multiple accusations that never proved successful.
His rant Tuesday came as the judge refused to delay a Jan. 16 trial over the disposition of prized assets that Giuliani is trying to shield from confiscation. Giuliani wanted to delay his trial date with Freeman and Moss so he could attend Trump’s Jan. 20 presidential inauguration.
