Rudy Giuliani’s lawyers are trying to quit his debt enforcement case

Rudy Giuliani’s legal team is attempting to withdraw from his debt enforcement case due to disagreements with the former New York City mayor, according to new court filings. The move comes as Giuliani faces a Friday deadline to turn over numerous valuable possessions to Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, two Georgia election workers to whom he owes nearly $150 million for defamation.

While the court filings do not provide specifics about the nature of the disagreements, they do indicate that Giuliani’s attorneys are seeking to terminate their representation because of ethics rules. These rules allow lawyers to withdraw from cases when there is a “fundamental disagreement” with the client, or when the client is uncooperative or insists on actions that contradict the law.

Giuliani’s troubles stem from his false claims about Freeman and Moss, whom he accused of tampering with votes during the 2020 presidential election. These claims have led to legal consequences, including a court order requiring Giuliani to pay the election workers nearly $150 million in damages. To enforce this debt, Freeman and Moss are entitled to seize Giuliani’s assets, including his bank accounts, a $6 million Manhattan apartment, a collection of luxury watches, gifts he received after the September 11 attacks, and memorabilia from his baseball collection.

The controversy has intensified as Giuliani has unsuccessfully fought court decisions that allow Freeman and Moss to take control of his assets. The election workers plan to sell off these valuable items to recoup part of the debt owed to them by Giuliani.

One of Giuliani’s primary attorneys, Kenneth Caruso, has appeared in court on his behalf but has struggled to carry out his client’s wishes. During a federal court hearing in Manhattan last week, Caruso attempted – and failed – to prevent the seizure of high-value items, including a 1980 Mercedes-Benz convertible and a watch from Giuliani’s grandfather. At the hearing, Giuliani was observed whispering directions to Caruso and occasionally contradicting him in front of the judge. This caused the judge, Lewis Liman, to call some of their statements “farcical” and “ridiculous,” and he warned that Giuliani and his legal team could face contempt of court sanctions if they did not comply with the court’s orders.

In the court filings, Giuliani’s attorneys expressed frustration with the situation, explaining that they could no longer represent Giuliani in good faith due to the ongoing disagreements and his refusal to cooperate with the legal process. Ethics rules governing attorney-client relationships require lawyers to withdraw from cases if continuing to represent a client would result in a violation of legal or ethical obligations.

Giuliani’s spokesman, Ted Goodman, responded to the news of the legal team’s withdrawal attempt by saying that Giuliani had not been informed by Caruso about this decision. “Mayor Giuliani has not been informed by Mr. Caruso of this action,” Goodman said in a statement. “Surely Mr. Caruso would talk to the mayor, or at the very least inform him, of such a decision.”

Meanwhile, the legal team representing Freeman and Moss has raised new concerns. They allege that a close associate of Giuliani owes nearly $100,000 to a moving and storage company on Long Island. This has complicated efforts to secure the election workers’ entitled possessions, which were recently moved out of Giuliani’s Manhattan apartment to a storage facility. Freeman and Moss’s attorneys have been struggling to gain access to the storage unit, where many of Giuliani’s belongings are being kept, despite a court order that entitles them to retrieve these items.

As the Friday deadline approaches, Giuliani is required to hand over a number of prized possessions to Freeman and Moss, including the keys and title to his classic car, his collection of luxury watches, furniture, and sports memorabilia. Failure to comply with the court’s orders could lead to further legal consequences for Giuliani, including the possibility of contempt charges, which have been threatened by Judge Liman throughout the proceedings.

The case is part of a broader legal and financial reckoning for Giuliani, who has faced mounting legal challenges related to his actions following the 2020 election. The defamation suit filed by Freeman and Moss is one of several lawsuits stemming from his false claims about election fraud, and his financial and legal troubles continue to grow as he struggles to meet the demands of the courts and his creditors.